Google Search

Google Search is a search engine created and owned by Google.

Spyware Level: EXTREMELY HIGH

Google Search collects your personal information and is heavily integrated with other services that collect your personal information. Google's privacy policy^[1] is written in a way that does not tell you which Google services are collecting which types of information, and instead ties all of its services into one privacy policy. So the best that can be done is to assume that by using any of Google's services at all, Google is trying to obtain all of the information detailed.

It's also important to note that this article only exists to provide a basic run-down on Google's spying, and is just here for completeness. It does not at all represent the full extent of Google's breaches of privacy, just because it is not really a secret to anyone that Google collects your information, so it is really not trying to be very detailed because it would not say anything new.

Google Search records your searches

Searches made using Google Search are associated with your identity and recorded in Google's servers. From the privacy policy^[1], Google makes it clear that:

"We collect information about the services that you use and how you use them"

Where "collect information" is clearly stated^[2] as such:

"This includes information like your usage data and preferences, Gmail messages, G+ profile, photos, videos, browsing history, map searches, docs, or other Google-hosted content. Our automated systems analyze this information as it is sent and received and when it is stored.

Google also confirms again that it stores your searches in its servers, in this quote:

"When you use our services or view content provided by Google, we automatically collect and store certain information in server logs. This includes: details of how you used our service, such as your search queries."

Google uses your searches to build a profile of your interests, which is sold to advertisers

In this page of Google's privacy policy^[2], Google confirms that they create profiles of their users interests:

"For example, we may use...information in your web history cookies to provide you with more relevant search results."

It's important to note that Google does not think that your search history is personal information, as long as it is not attached to your name. It does share this information with advertisers, as long as it is "not identifiable":

"We may share non-personally identifiable information publicly and with our partners – like publishers, advertisers or connected sites. For example, we may share information publicly to show trends about the general use of our services."

Google Search is integrated into the "Google Accounts" spyware platform.

Google search allows you to sign-in using an account made on the Google Accounts spyware platform. This platform exists to collect personal information, and connects its users to other spyware services in the Google ecosystem. It attempts to collect phone numbers, and helps Google attribute the information it collects though all of its services to one user, increasing the accuracy of their internal profile of you.