I am slightly mad at my girlfriend since she used my Credit card to subscribe to Hulu while being glued to Netflix all year along. However, more than my girlfriend, I am dead mad at Google for saving each and every online purchase she ever made without her consent.
And she’s not alone.
For years, Google has been collecting the what, when and how of my online shopping. And it very likely collects yours too and tucks them safely in some remote server waiting for data brokers to buy your data (most likely).
According to aCNBC report, Google uses your Gmail to track your order receipts of everything you shop online. Google now sits on a pile of billing and order data of millions of consumers worldwide. So the tech giant knows your reckless shopping habits.
It seems Google now even lets you know your history of purchases you made in the past in a nifty tool, consisting of a sort of personal dashboard that can be viewed only by you.
I skimmed through mine and found that I had squandered money back in 2015 on an overpriced, useless fidget cube whose whereabouts are not certain to me anymore. My purchases reveal how lonely I was until I got into a relationship this year.
Even though the charm she brings me into my life is debatable, she has definitely made a splash on my purchase history and lightened up with useless junk like Ear-rings, keychain, dreamcatchers
Why in the hell, does one need a dreamcatcher anyway?
Okay, back to the topic.
So, looking at my list, it looks something like this.
So like any other self-conscious netizen, I tried to delete my history (just like I delete my browser history) and found out that there was no option for bulk delete but you had to do it one by one as shown in the picture below.
This is just by reading our Gmail receipts. Imagine how much volume of info Google has amassed without our knowledge, behind our backs.
Maybe I can digest the fact that Amazon can save my spends because obviously, it’s an online marketplace and wants to give me a friendly shopping experience. But Google, out of nowhere, comes to you with a cute little dashboard showing you stuff you bought for your exes ages back.
Totally uncool Google!
Don’t mistake me, I am a huge fan of Google. However, what’s infuriating is the fact that Google has all the money and time to dig up my purchase history by sneaking into my email while shutting down brilliant apps like Inbox earlier this year in March.
Gift-wrapping services like this is good as far as they don’t use this information against me. And I see no reason for them not to use it that way.
You can view your purchase history here
GIPHY App Key not set. Please check settings