Google Privacy Concerns – Round Two

Three weeks ago, I made a post regarding privacy concerns in the Chrome web browser Incognito Mode: https://www.linkedin.com/posts/eric-hoy-75551210_google-privacy-concerns-activity-6674076815885176832-5p6S/

In the original post, I brought up two big questions about the Incognito Mode feature. I have straight answers now, and clear guidance. The quick answer to my main question: A Google search within an incognito session is not significantly more private than a Google search in a regular session but using Incognito Mode along with a DuckDuckGo search may offer a little bit of privacy.

You may be asking yourself “Why is this article about Google and is not addressing social media like Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, etc.?” This post is primarily concerned with issues related to the Incognito Session feature of Google’s Chrome web browser and other difficult-to-understand privacy concerns revolving around Google services.

That said, the matter is probably a great deal more complicated than one would expect. And the worst effects are mostly rooted in major political and societal issues and not Google’s fault. If Google could put their data centers on the moon to protect our privacy, they probably would. The reality is that a move like this, other than being ridiculous, would cost them roughly a bajillion dollars, which is an amount of money that doesn’t even exist.

This is dark and frightening stuff. You should get a cup of hot tea, put on some relaxing music, and take a seat before you continue.

These were the original questions that I brought up in my previous post:

1. Does Google tie any of this info collected from your incognito web searches to your Google profile even if you have not logged into your Google account within your incognito session?
2. If you use a search such as DuckDuckGo does Google still record your web searches? 

Before I go down this rabbit hole, I’ll begin with why we should be concerned with our web search privacy

If you are a real person, you have thought about or experienced one of these situations.

• You shopped for a gift for a baby shower, and over the next several months noticed an increased number of advertisements for prenatal vitamins and maternity clothing across a wide variety of online retailers and websites. Reaction: this may be a little bit off-putting. Reality: Google is not handing out the data to any 3rd party; they are merely targeting the ads as a service to the advertiser. More reality: when those ads load up on your screen, the advertiser captures identifying information from you. Avoidable by: using Incognito Mode with a DuckDuckGo search engine and no accounts or email linked to a Gmail address, and not on an Android phone, and who knows what other precautions you’d have to take.
• You’re not feeling well and can’t get to the doctor’s office today. So you searched for your symptoms online, and then later wondered “Is this search going to be used against me by an insurance company someday?” Maybe, who knows? Data doesn’t just evaporate, it passes hands from company to company and it spreads like wildfire. It does not go away. Reaction: creepy. Reality: Google has partnered with auto and life insurance companies. More reality: I simply don’t know if or how Google data effected the services advertised or offered to customers, or if it had any impact on pricing or availability of services to consumers based on their perceived risk derived from their Google data. Avoidable by: using the Tor browser instead of Chrome
• This item is scary to even post online. Out of a sense of duty, I have mustered the courage to include this scenario. You just watched an action movie and wondered if a specific violent act would be lethal. Or maybe if a particular method of bank robbery would be successful. So of course you “Googled” it. Some weeks/months/years later a bank is robbed by someone with your description, someone close to you passes away under unclear circumstances, or even something worse involving a crowd of people. You think about your search history and wonder what can be used against you with a warrant. Or even without a warrant in some cases! Reaction: A prison sentence for no crime is scary. Another reaction: we are all in trouble. Reality: Google data is available to all governments based on their laws and their legal processes. More reality: According to data available on https://transparencyreport.google.com/user-data/overview there are approximately 1.6 Billion instances (yes that’s Billion with a ‘B’) globally between the years 2009 and 2019 where Google has complied with information requests by governments by providing data associated with a Google account. Even more reality: Unless there is a substantial number of recurring requests associated with the same accounts, this implies that data from almost every Google account in existence worldwide has been provided to a government agency based on the legal process of the country of origin which Google was legally incapable of denying due to the physical location of one of their data centers. Avoidable by: Nope, there is no way around this one. This applies to every person on or within the reach of the planet Earth. Reduce exposure by: never commit any serious crime, suspicious act, or any action that may be undesirable to the government of a country where you reside, travel through, communicate with, or use the products or services within. This is obvious if you are a user of any Google-related products or services, including but not limited to Gmail, Android, the Chrome browser, and various IoT (e.g. smart home) devices. There are two major problems with . Firstly, Google Earth/ Google Maps has been providing a vast amount of info to governments that has allowed them to track down individuals for various reasons. This type of data includes images of people who do not use any Google services whatsoever. Even by living entirely off the grid, in the mountains, one’s location could still be subject to satellite photography loaded into Google Earth. Secondly, an oppressive government that persecutes groups based on religion or ethnicity could conceivably, through a fully legal process, successfully obtain data from Google from a data center physically located within that country, and use it to commit atrocities. The only example at this time is China, but the political and technological landscape is always changing and we all need to stay alert.
• This one is just an example. Any resemblance to real life scenarios that actually happened and that you can easily search for by typing in “Cambridge Analytica” are totally a coincidence and I am not out to bash anyone. Any American who steps forward to take an important political office in our nation will receive all due respect from me. Scenario: An election occurs and the victor is totally unexpected. The entire WORLD (not just YOUR world) is impacted by this startling development. Nobody seems to understand how this bigoted/narcissistic/arrogant stupid/impulsive/egotistical knockoff human Muppet got into office. But you find out that a company working with the Google data of US Citizens created a useful and detailed psychological profile of everyone. This company seems to have become more effective at manipulating citizens than those citizens’ spouses. This ability maybe helped to sway the election in my purely hypothetical scenario. To make matters worse, maybe this is a politician that has authority to build and direct the actions of military resources including The Big One (shown in the photo). Again, totally hypothetical (wink). Infinitely creepy…

If you have any doubt about how your search data could be used against you, take a look at https://takeout.google.com/ . Keep in mind that this is just the tip of the iceberg. AI allows organizations, including Google, to assemble fragments of data and magnify their usefulness by mapping out an individual’s profile, allowing Google or a government to predict behaviors, or at least to have the perception that they are able to reliably predict behaviors.

Base your behaviors on how much of a target you are. Ethnic and religious minorities, whistle blowers, and journalists are probably at the top of the list. If you are in this category I wish you the best. My heart goes out to you and I am so sorry that things have to be so difficult and so messed up.

If you are a member of a “target” group you need to arm yourself with knowledge of privacy concerns. Consult with legal and information technology if they are available. The data of your friends, family and community can also get tied to you by location and by your association with them, so make sure you give your community a hand with their privacy.

If you are a “target” you will have to take many steps to protect yourself: 1. Encrypt your computer’s storage (e.g. bitlocker) 2. Use strong passwords on everything and two-factor authentication if available 3. Use a VPN service such as NordVPN in combination with the Tor browser to stay anonymous. 4. Run your own email service instead of using a hosted email service in the cloud. 5. Instead of using a smartphone, purchase a “burner” pay as you go phone from the dollar store using cash. 6. Speaking of cash, use it (or bitcoins) in favor of credit cards or other electronic payments. 7. If you must use a smartphone, support and look into various groups such as LineageOS working on alternatives to Apple and the Google version of Android. 8. Do not live in, visit, or give politically or personally sensitive info to anyone in China. 9. Live in the United States, which is basically a free country other than being systemically racist and rotten down to its core. 10. Stay informed by reading articles (like this one) listening to podcasts like Marketplace and Marketplace Tech, reading the terms to which you agree for various services, and bringing up your concerns. 11. As citizens, it is our responsibility to get involved politically and fix all the screwed up stuff with our own governments. 12. Most importantly – help each other and be kind to each other. We are living, thinking beings so we need to stand together and figure this out.

Other recommendations:

1. Live inside a cave with no technology.
2. Live on another planet
3. Wear a tin foil hat so nobody can read your mind.

Back to the Primary Topic: don’t even bother with Incognito Mode in the Chrome web browser unless you are merely trying to keep your browser history from being cached.