How To Download The Data That Google Has Been Collecting On You

The colourful search engine collects random information about your random searches and in many, it also collects data from your location and other interests so it can provide you with advertisements related to your interests.

This random collection of information sometimes provides with amazing and personalised results. While plenty of times, it is simply a strategy from Google to make money;even though the company does not sell you information directly to other parties, it has its ways.

If you are worried as to what information the tech giant is collecting about you and you want to analyse, these steps will help you download the information that Google has been collecting on you.

Let Us Get Started

Image Source: Google Takeout – Choose the Google products to include in your archive and configure the settings for each product. This archive will only be accessible to you

Go to https://takeout.google.com/settings/takeout in your browser. You will see a wide variety of Google Services that the company offers and collects your information. The services are as diverse as Android Pay, Contacts, Chrome, Photos, and YouTube; even services such as Voice, Search, and Locations are kept in the log.

On the right hand side of the applications, you will see toggle buttons for the services. Check off all the applications and services from which you want to download data. Once you have made the selection, click ‘Next’ at the bottom.

Image Source: Google Takeout – Choose your archive’s file type and whether you want to download it or save it in the cloud.

Once you hit ‘Next’, it will drag you down to the Customise Archive Format section where it will show you the number of the services you have selected. It will then ask you for your ‘File Type’ such as .zip format or .tgz etc. Once you have made the selection, it will ask you to select the size of your ‘Archive Size’. If you select more than 2GB, it will split the data into many files so you can download large data with ease.

Once you finalize the amount of data you want to download, the final step would be to select the ‘Delivery Method’, which provides you with two options: send a download link via email or add the files to Dropbox, Google Drive, or Microsoft OneDrive account. Remember, if you select the email option you will only have that data valid for seven days after which it will expire.

Image Source: Google Takeout – An archive of 27 products is currently being prepared Please note that archives may take a long time (hours or possibly days) to create. You will receive an email when your archive is complete – is the message presented to the users when they create the archive.

Once you are ready, hit ‘Create Archive’. Building the archive can take quite a while, from minutes to days, but Google will send you an email once it’s ready. If you want to view the files, just extract the .zip file on your computer using WinRAR and browse freely.