Technology
What Does Google Know About You?
Data is what fuels the information economy.
And while there are many varieties of data clogging up the internet’s bandwidth, there is one specific type of data that is known to be particularly lucrative: personal data.
Like many other enterprising tech giants, Google must accumulate massive amounts of personal data to monetize its services – and in the process, the company develops an astonishingly robust picture of what you’re all about.
What Google Knows
Today’s infographic comes to us from TheBestVPN and it shows what Google knows about you, how the tech giant gathers that information, and a few solutions to stop Google from tracking you.
Through its various apps and services, Google can craft a robust profile on you and your activity on the internet.
Google, like Facebook, uses this personal information to target customized advertisements to you, however you decide to use the internet. This can be via search, mobile phone, Gmail, Youtube, or other apps that run ads connected to the Google network.
Crafting a Perfect Profile
Here is what Google knows about you, based on this information:
Who You Are
Google knows what you look like, what you sound like, your political and religious beliefs, and how healthy you are. The search giant also knows if you have children, or if you have specific dietary restrictions.
Where You’ve Been
Google uses location tracking to know where you live, where you work, and everywhere you’ve traveled.
Who Your Friends Are
Google knows who you talk to, and what you talk about. It also knows who you’ve been with, and when.
What You Like and Dislike
Based on your search queries, Google knows the food, books, movies, videos, and stores that you like or dislike.
Your Future Plans
Your search queries tell a story about what you are thinking about, including your future plans. Have you started searching for information about parenting techniques? If so, Google knows that you are expecting.
Your Online Life
Google also knows all of the websites you’ve visited, your data that autofills, and your bookmarked pages.
Opting Out
If you really want to decrease the amount of data that Google has on you, there are a few options available, including:
- Adjusting privacy settings
- Using private browsing
- Using a different browser for search
- Turning of your location settings
- Deleting your Google accounts
- Using a VPN
Of course, not many of these options are particularly convenient – so get used to the idea that Google will continue to know more and more about you as time goes on.
Technology
Ranked: The World’s Top 10 Electronics Exporters (2000-2021)
Here are the largest electronics exporters by country, highlighting how electronics trade has increasingly shifted to Asia over 20 years.
Top 10 Electronics Exporters in the World (2000-2021)
From personal computers to memory chips, the electronics trade plays a vital role in the world economy. In 2021, global electronics exports reached $4.1 trillion according to McKinsey Global Institute.
This graphic shows the 10 largest electronics exporters in the world, based on data from McKinsey, and how they’ve changed since 2000.
Ranked: The Top 10 Exporters of Electronics
Which countries are the leading exporters of electronics, and how has this shifted over the last two decades?
| Rank | Country | Share of Total 2021 | Share of Total 2000 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 🇨🇳 China | 34% | 9% |
| 2 | 🇹🇼 Taiwan | 11% | 6% |
| 3 | 🇰🇷 South Korea | 7% | 5% |
| 4 | 🇻🇳 Vietnam | 5% | N/A |
| 5 | 🇲🇾 Malaysia | 5% | 5% |
| 6 | 🇯🇵 Japan | 4% | 13% |
| 7 | 🇺🇸 United States | 4% | 16% |
| 8 | 🇩🇪 Germany | 4% | 5% |
| 9 | 🇲🇽 Mexico | 3% | 3% |
| 10 | 🇹🇭 Thailand | 3% | N/A |
| Other | 20% | 30% |
We can see in the above table how global electronics trade has become more concentrated in Asia, specifically China and Taiwan. As an electronics powerhouse, 34% of the world’s electronic goods in 2021 came from China, representing $1.4 trillion in value.
Home to leading firms like TSMC, Taiwan also plays a major role due to its prowess in semiconductor manufacturing—highlighting the island’s global importance.
But not all of Asia has been thriving. In 2000, Japan was a global electronics powerhouse responsible for 13% of the industry’s exports, but has seen its share shrink to 4% in 2021. The U.S. has also sheen its electronics lead shrink, with exports down from 16% of the global total in 2000 to just 4% in 2021.
Several factors have driven this shift. Instead of manufacturing electronics domestically, the U.S. has outsourced technology to countries where manufacturing, production, and labor costs are lower. However, recently, the U.S. is focusing on reshoring semiconductor production specifically given its role in national security, as seen through the $52.7 billion CHIPS Act.
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