In case you weren’t aware, Google likes to spy. There’s nothing to worry about really — you know, unless you’re doing anything illegal.
Our locations, purchases, voice conversations, browsing histories, deleted photos, downloads, and a whole host of other things are kept within a Google archive for all time.
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Don’t believe me? See for yourself. I’m serious. Here’s the link to download your Google archive . It can take anywhere from a few minutes to a few days to download, but all your stuff will be there. All of it.
The people of the internet recently took to Reddit after downloading their own Google archives and shared the most unsettling things that they found. After this list, you might want to get rid of all your tech and move to the mountains.
The Boys
“There’s an audio recording of me saying ‘check the Jewish boys,'” this person admits, “I don’t remember ever saying that.”
Video Killed The Radio Star
“Their profile claims I like Chinese rap,” one guy writes, “I have no idea why, other than one video I came across in the YouTube rabbit hole.”
Deleted. Kind Of.
“I took photos that I didn’t like, deleted them,” this person shares, “Weeks later I am just browsing my timeline in Google Maps and those deleted photos are there, tagged to the location. Nothing incriminating, just thought you should know that a delete isn’t a delete.”
The Work Grind
“Recordings of conversations with my boss over two years,” one woman reveals, “I don’t know why it only had recordings of us talking and no one else.”
The Bike
“I got drunk once and proceeded to get lost on the way home, ending up cycling on some highway,” this guy writes, “For two years I wondered where the hell I had been until I saw Google’s location history for that night.”
Wishlist
“My purchase history on websites like eBay, Amazon and other companies that (I guess) all sell their data about me to Google,” one man writes, “I had no idea of it and although I share things like my location to Google, seeing my purchases is kind of scary because I never allowed it.”
Top Men
“A recording of a meeting I was having with the top officials of a government organisation which was supposed to be a secret,” this person reveals, “It also had the exact location and time. Could get into trouble over this as I signed a confidentiality agreement.”
The Kids Aren’t Alright
“Random voice clips when I absolutely hadn’t activated Google Assistant,” one woman writes, “The one that felt weirdest was a random clip from when I was babysitting, and reprimanding a child for misbehaving. Very unsettling.”
The Bath
“Google recorded me saying ‘I’ll take you home'” this person writes, “And then my friend replying ‘You can live with me in my bathtub.'”
Promotion
“I’m the vice-president of a company that I’ve never heard of,” this man admits, “And can’t find any other info on it.”
Trickle Down
“It knew my whole family tree,” one woman writes, “Half of those people I don’t even know.”
Ex’s And Oh’s
“I downloaded an ex boyfriend’s once because I thought he was cheating on me,” one woman reveals, “And instead found a lot of evidence he is a pedophile. That was pretty unsettling.”
Size Matters
“Found out my ex used my phone to google ‘How to cope with skinny fat s/o'” this person writes.
Habit
“I just found 1600 voice recordings of me setting my alarm for 7 AM,” one man writes.
Tracker
“Google knows every location I’ve been to for the last couple of months,” this person reveals, “They stored multiple audio files of me talking to colleagues and friends and worst of all, I did not know they were doing that.
My mind is blown and I’m terrified, my private information is no one’s business, Google.”
Incognito
“I once downloaded some porn when I was on vacation and deleted it when I was done,” this guy writes, “A few weeks later google made a collection of all pictures/movies I made during this vacation and the porno video was right there.”
Out Cold
“Google’s been tracking where I go…even when I’m not awake,” this person reveals, “Apparently I sleepwalk thousands of kilometers and then manage to get back home in time for work.”
The Very First Time
“All phone activity(opened app, closed app etc) from the very first day I owned my phone, constant check of my GPS, constant check of my device orientation,” one woman writes, “If someone steals your google account, they basically can found out everything there is to find out about you.”
The Bacon
“Just listened to a load of voice clips of me talking into my voice-to-text thing on my phone keyboard while driving 4 years ago,” one woman shares, “Me talking really slowly so the words could be heard distinctly: ‘I. AM. GOING. TO. GET. BACON. SEE. YOU. LATER.'”
Always Watching
“My period was very late, so naturally, I told my husband in our very private and quiet home setting, and bought a Clearblue pregnancy test,” this woman shares, “We don’t own tv, Amazon Alexa , google voice or similar. I just have reddit and Instagram on my smartphone. My period was just late, but the very next day I got bombarded by ads on Instagram about Clearblue and other pregnancy sticks.
There is no way that it was a coincidence since it was the second time getting a very, very specific ad. So the app is listening, and showing me ads accordingly.”
Just Friends
“My Facebook suggested my childcare provider as a friend even though we have zero mutual friends,” this person writes, “Because it noticed I went to her house twice a day.”
Way Way Back
“Voice recordings of lil’ 14 y/o me asking to be woken up in 20 minutes,” one person shares, “Or entire audio streams of family dinners because somebody may or may not have mentioned something that may or may not sounded anything like ‘Okay Google.'”
Happy Birthday
“They have my real age (when I set it up, I entered my mums date of birth). I never told Google my real age,” one woman writes, “When I go to my account, it still has my mums birthday entered. Yet it knows my date of birth, full names, birthplace, address, phone numbers, even an old address that I lived at before I even had a Google account.”
I Do
“I found the exact spot (and I mean exact, literally 2 feet off of a park cement trail) where I proposed to my wife,” this man shares, “That was pretty cool! And disturbing.”
Phone Home
“My google home thing has been randomly recording stuff,” one woman writes, “There’s like 6 recordings of just silence.”
The End
“I played the recordings right?,” this person writes, “And then I heard myself in a whispering voice : ‘Okay Google, how do I kill myself?’. I got shocked.
Intent
“After my boyfriend cheated on me a couple of years ago, I keyed his car,” this woman admits, “Yesterday I downloaded my Google info and not only is my location saved, showing exactly where I was that night, but there was a full on recording from my phone of me keying the car that I didn’t make myself.”
h/t: Reddit
Let’s Start At The Very Beginning
“My Google data had a video of my birth in 1987 and it was in HD,” one man writes, “Scary stuff!”