Google’s Guesses About You of the Day: It’s no secret that Google stores a lot of information about its users, but now you can actually see the company’s guesses about who you are.
On the Google Ads Preferences page for your account, you’ll find the rough picture Google has painted of you based on your browsing and search history, which is used to show you targeted ads. The profile includes guesses about your interests, age and gender.
It sounds a bit creepy, but it doesn’t appear to be all that accurate. Ars Technica writer Casey tweeted that Google thinks she’s 30 and male (neither of which are true), and Washington Post blogger Melissa Bell found her profile varied depending on which browser she used.
“On Firefox, I’m a 25-year-old man who like computers. On Google Chrome, I’m a 65-plus man from Atlanta interested in people and society,” she wrote.
This may explain why Google is launching a new privacy policy that allows sharing of information among all of the company’s services. It should give them a more accurate picture of who their users are.
Although you can’t opt out of the privacy policy (except by leaving Google), you can still opt out of the demographic tracking by clicking a button on the Ads Preferences page.
[wapo]
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