Google has been tracking everything you buy

What did we tell you that Google has been monitoring almost everything you have purchased online? By using the purchase receipts you receive in your Gmail, Google can easily control your online transactions. Last week, CEO Sundar Pichai wrote to the New York Times saying that “privacy cannot be a luxury good”, but it seems that behind the scenes, Google has been collecting many of our personal data.

“Shopping” Web Tool

A private web tool called “Purchases” shows a list of many precise purchases you have made and has been active for an indefinite period without our knowledge. You can see yours here.

According to Google,

To help you see and track your purchases, reservations and subscriptions in one place, we have created a private destination that only you can see. You can delete this information at any time. We do not use any of your Gmail messages to serve your ads, and that includes the receipts and email confirmations shown on the Purchases page.

It can not be deleted

The search engine giant says that only the user can see this information and that Google does not use it for personalized tracking of the ads. You can also delete your Purchase receipts, but it seems that it does not work.

When you click delete, they simply take you to the Gmail entry. So, as a result, there’s no way you can track your own purchases without Google being aware.

Can not turn off

Google says you can turn it off, but there’s really no option to completely disable tracking. It is strange that this is not mentioned in the Google front and central privacy page or even in Google’s privacy verification feature.

According to Google, they only seek to simplify things and make it easier to control. But it is a bit strange that many people do not even know that this exists and that there is not even a clear way to reach this “characteristic”.