Clicking this link lets you see what Google thinks it knows about you based on your search history - and some of its predictions are eerily accurate
First, navigate to your Google account homepage by clicking the widget in the top right corner of any Google site.
From there, you'll see a link to "Privacy & personalization." Click "Manage your data & personalization" to see more options.
The profile Google has predicted based on your history is found under "Ad personalization." Click on "Go to ad settings" to see the full profile.
You'll be greeted with a message describing ad personalization. If you don't want Google to track any personal information for ad purposes, you can switch ad personalization to OFF on this screen.
If you aren't able to find this page from your settings, you should be able to reach it at this link.
When you scroll down, you'll see a list of attributes that Google has predicted about you, including your age, gender, and interests.
Clicking on any of the items in the list will pull up a menu that allows you to update the information to correct Google's assumption.
In my case, Google was pretty far off — I'm 23, a far cry from the 35-to-64-year-old window. To be fair, I checked my ad profile using my work email account, which I pretty much only use at the office.
For most of the settings, you can also "turn off" the tracking, which will stop Google from using its predictions in that category to serve you ads.
Some of Google's predictions are scarily accurate.
Google correctly guessed that I have a bachelor's degree, despite the fact that I've never explicitly input that information into any Google account or website.
Google may even make predictions about your living situation.
In this case, I was surprised that Google accurately predicted I rent my apartment.
Some of the interests Google predicts are oddly specific.
The predictions Google makes can be comically fine-tuned. Google has profiled me as someone interested in "unwanted body & facial hair removal" — while I searched for places to buy a safety razor a couple weeks ago, I wouldn't call the topic one of my primary interests.
When you opt to turn off ad personalization, you'll see this message reminding you that ads will still appear, but be less targeted to you.
Google also states that it will keep using "general" information like your location and the time of day to target ads to you when you turn off personalization.
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