Opinion post by

Robert Triggs

There was plenty to take away from Google I/O 2022, particularly if you’re excited by the prospect of more Google hardware to buy. But various keynote speakers also touched on an equally important but less exciting aspect of Google’s core business — privacy. Or more specifically, the lack thereof. Unfortunately, none of them really seemed to understand what proper privacy actually means.

As I’m sure you’re aware, Google’s primary business remains that of selling ads. Whether you’re using Search, watching YouTube, or browsing the Play Store, Google tracks what you’re up to and builds a personalized advertising profile it can use to target ads at you with maximum efficiency and, therefore, revenue. Obviously, no one really likes this practice, especially as it’s virtually impossible to truly control and audit the data collected on us, but we begrudgingly accept it as the price of “free” services.