Google has been tracking nearly everything you buy online — see for yourself with this tool

https://www.theverge.com/2019/5/17/18629789/google-purchase-history-gmail-email-receipts

 

Well, they only showed two items but both were correct.

 

I only use Gmail for my Android devices, so it is only showing purchases I've made from the Play Store and some in-game purchases.

 

So what? Who cares they know what I bought...? The shop knows, the bank knows...and if I can get some discount because of this, better it is.

What matters online, is my credit card credentials, not what I buy.
Those clickbait writers should focus on how weak are security on shopping websites rather that what Google collect...we all know it collects everything so keep it or get away.
Google isn't mandatory it is a choice.

 

Apparently I haven't used my Gmail address to buy anything. I only have a Gmail address for my Android phone too.

 

Well, I looked at the long, looooong list of game purchases I made and the first thing that came to mind was: don't I have anything better to do? The second: well, the damage is done Google-wise, no harm to me in terms of pwnage (yet), and gmail has done right by me for yea, all these years. Not sweating it.

 

Even at that you can bet they have some form of tentacle attached to any use of Gmail or anything else google related/connected/linked Whatever.

 

Do you really want data broker to inform data insurance companies that you have bought HIV test? Even without knowing about result it may suggests somebody engaged in risky sexual behavior.
Buying firearms is also a sensitive subject that some people not want to brag about.

 

@reasonablePrivacy lucky me, your examples doesn't applies in the two countries i live.
For example, in France, healthcare is offered by the government, not insurance companies. HIV test is free, no need to buy online.

Europe, as you know, isn't USA where they sell every bit of your personal datas to the one offering the most...

 

Privacy has became a luxury and is not a right any more. I'm waiting for a country that would put right to privacy in their constitution. I'm afraid that a lot of bad things regarding over data will have to happen before this comes true.

 

+1

i dont hope much

 

I live in EU, but not in France. Healthcare is also offered by government. However there are usually two cases:
a) doctor has outdated knowledge about medicine, diagnosis and treatments
b) doctor is up-to-date with knowledge, but you must wait a little for a visit. It means waiting in queue for weeks or months.
That's why a large portion of working populations pays for private visits anyway. Some lucky portion of population have additional private healthcare insurance paid by corporation they work in.

 

Of course they do. They are only better hypocrites in saying that they care about their citizens.
e.g. Bovine spongiform encephalopathy= EU had evidence of the desease from the early 1970's and instructed the goverments to hide it for not causing damages in the economies of G. Britain, France, Netherlands and Germany... and only 20 years later they decided to take measures to protect the health of their citizens.

Panagiotis

 

This might be true. But that does not mean that privacy is not achievable (to some extent, at least) by applying some simple counter-measures. One of them is: Do not use Google services.

 

tell that to companies...not saying Google services are very useful and well made, the benefits outweigh the cons.

 

Nothing to see here for me because I don't have a Google account.

 

I have about 20 purchases listed going all the way back to 2013. Nothing particularly exciting. From a privacy standpoint this doesn't really change anything in my mind.

Regardless of whether it's shown in one easy to access location, these purchase receipts still exist in inboxes and so are still accessible to google algorithms. I've assumed for a long time that all emails received and sent are processed and data mined by Google and this feeds into my decisions when choosing which email account to use in different situations.

Compartmentalizing web activity is what is important to me. Google know me from the contents of my gmail inbox but I try to ensure they can't then link that to my web searches, my web browsing or my forum posts etc.

 

Don't ever use gmail or yahoo. Use Runbox or Protonmail who do not sell you out. I suggest Runbox as its super configurable on desktop and comes with 100 alias of whatever you choose.

 

Hm, which Google services are not replaceable? There are plenty excellent alternatives for, e.g., Gmail.

 

Everything is replaceable of course, but for daily usage, i didn't find yet anything that works as efficiently and simply through all my devices than Google services.

 

I personally think this is unacceptable, Google has no business tracking my purchases that are not related to Google.

 

Right, but it's easily avoidable.

 

How? I mean without having to stop using Gmail of course.

 

I already knew this. Although they seem to have missed a few of my purchases. Slackers.

 

But that's the point. Why do you need Gmail? As mentioned in another post there are many alternatives.

I mean, you embrace a grizzly and wonder at the your injuries afterwards.