I chose to focus on the Google data set partly because I could not get onto my Twitter, also because my Google data set had exceedingly more information on me than Facebook. I was very intrigued at the vast number of category, 12 in total, and their varying amounts of data and detail on my personal life.

The first category my Google account showed how many apps and sites I had viewed, the general locations of my logins and the service provider, browsers used and devices I had used in the last month. Under devices it included my android phone from early 2013, which was odd that it still included that. The calendar was expected, didn’t think I would be able to view and change it from there. Contacts really surprised me, my girlfriend was the first one, which I expected, but the others listed were random and not at all my most contacted. The Google docs were very specific but I expected to see a good bit of information but didn’t expect the most recent documents to be highlighted. I was startled to see my trash conversations show up on my Gmail category. The saved drafts and conversations appearing also surprised me because I thought they would not be registered since they were temporary. The recent apps downloaded were not current but I suppose that was from my android phone. I’m glad my search history was disabled just because that would be a bit privacy breaching.

The other categories were kind of irrelevant besides the Groups description which read, “Nothing interesting here”. That was very strange and seemed rather creepy. After reading The Guardian article, referencing the tapping of fiber optic cables and our just overall extended surveillance it just seems like the government’s knowledge of our daily activity online has gradually risen in recent years. As the internet’s relevance and our dependence on it continue to rise, our public information will become more accessible as we type our freedoms away.

http://www.slate.com/articles/technology/future_tense/2012/02/google_privacy_policy_the_missing_opt_out_isn_t_the_only_problem_.html