By: Ajay V.
Edited by: Jeremy H.
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| Photo by Solen Feyissa on Unsplash |
Why Does Google and Facebook Spy on You?
Google and Facebook are two of the biggest tech companies in the world. Both of the massive tech giants serve billions of people every day. Without the services that these companies provide, our lives would look drastically different. However, despite their vast resources and extraordinary innovations, they are notorious for something else. Something that has become an increasing problem for lawmakers: online privacy. Both Google and Facebook track their billions of users every day, and for many of us, we already see the effects of their ruthless tracking algorithms. The moment we search for something, we see related ads on websites. But many of you might be asking, "Why? Why do these massive tech companies love to spy on you?" Especially when you factor in the extreme tarnish it can cause to their reputation. Read on to learn more about the three big reasons big tech loves data and how much they know about you.
Tracking Helps Companies Make Their Services Better
First and foremost, tracking can help retain customers and help make Google and Facebook better at showing related data. Companies like Google and Facebook use individualized profiling. This lets them collect data on a wide scale which can provide them with valuable data on how to improve their websites and services. Also, because of the data they get about their users, they can show related data to their clients. This will increase the user's retention. Google repeatedly tweaks its searching algorithms tirelessly based upon the data that it receives from its tracking software. This is why Google is the best search engine for providing quality search results and is why Google can sustain its monopoly on the search engine market. On the other hand, Facebook uses its data to improve its app and website. Knowing what its users search for and who their users like can give them valuable information on your preferences which will help them personalize your feed. This retains so many customers for both companies and truly helps them stand out.
Targeted Ads
Ads are another reason Google and Facebook track you. What are targeted ads? Targeted ads are ads that are shown to you based on your searches. This is because these companies work tirelessly to build an ad profile for you. They take all the information that they have of you and add them all up to find your exact preferences and what you like. That way, Google and Facebook can show you ads that are relevant to you. How does this help them? If they give you ads that you like, it will increase your chance of you clicking that ad. The more relevant ads that Google shows, the more ads that will be clicked on. This means that Google can charge a lot more money to companies that want to advertise since there will be a higher chance of the ad working. This is essentially how Google's AdSense service can outcompete any other type of advertising platform out there. Facebook as well uses its tracking algorithms to target its ads on its platform. Whenever you like something or follow someone, Facebook takes that into account and displays ads based on your actions. Facebook can thus become the billion-dollar company that it is today through its network of ads and tracking algorithms.
Tracking Helps Keep Services Free
Google is free. Everyone is free to use it. However, a free internet would not have been a possibility without tracking algorithms. Google gets its money from ads, and without tracking algorithms, Google would not be able to generate enough profit to survive. Google uses money from search engine ads to create more and more free services like Google Drive, Gmail, and the hundreds of other Google services that are extremely useful. But this causes a complication. Instead of selling you content, Google and Facebook use their platforms to track you. They don’t sell you information directly, but they can sell the ability to use their data about you for advertisements, which some believe is ethically wrong.
How Much do They Know About Me?
Google’s tracking algorithms can be very accurate, and they look for a lot of data. They can guess everything from marital status to income to your everyday preferences, without you ever inputting this information to Google. To find out how much Google knows about you, you can visit this article:
To find out how much Google knows about you, you can visit this article:
https://www.businessinsider.com/what-does-google-know-about-me-search-history-delete-2019-10
If you are curious how much Facebook knows about you, you can read this article:
https://money.com/how-facebook-tracks-me/
However, Google is not always perfect and can make a lot of mistakes. Google can show you ads of something unrelated to you, but it can still be freakishly accurate, and for many people, it is scary. Google and Facebook don’t just use their platforms to get data. They can track you if you don’t use Google or Facebook. How? Both companies have a variety of ways that enable them to track you on websites that are not owned by them. For example, Google Analytics is an analytical service offered by Google for small businesses and other websites. People who own websites install Google Analytics to get real-time data on how many visitors they have, where they come from, and countless other valuable information. Google can track you on every website that uses Google Analytics, and since many websites use this feature, it allows Google to widen the number of people they can track.
Is Online Tracking Ethical?
"Is Online Tracking Ethical?" is a controversial question, and you can expect a variety of different answers from everyone. Some people would be very concerned with the fact that Google and Facebook know all of your data. However, others have argued that it is necessary to keep the internet free. There are a variety of viewpoints on this topic, and each one is valid in its own way. Why don’t you post your viewpoints in the comments below?
Sources:
1. AJ Krow. “How Does Facebook Benefit from Your Data Collection?” Medium, Technology Hits, 9 Feb. 2021, medium.com/technology-hits/how-do-facebook-and-google-benefit-from-collecting-your-data-c6f161c2e017. Accessed 22 June 2021.
2. Elle Poole Sidell. “What Does Google Do with Your Data?” What Does Google Do with Your Data?, Avast, 18 Dec. 2020, www.avast.com/c-how-google-uses-your-data#topic-2. Accessed 22 June 2021.
3. Glum, Julia. “I Found out Everything Facebook Knows about Me — and You Can Too.” Money, Money, 23 Mar. 2018, money.com/how-facebook-tracks-me/. Accessed 22 June 2021.
4. Holmes, Aaron. “What Does Google Know about Me? Click This Link to Find Out.” Business Insider, Business Insider, 19 Mar. 2020, www.businessinsider.com/what-does-google-know-about-me-search-history-delete-2019-10. Accessed 22 June 2021.