A reporter for the Guardian digs in to discover what personal data Google and Facebook are collecting on you. He describes the reaction many people will have to this: "Want to freak yourself out?"

Here's just a sampling of what he discovered Google had on him:

• Location tracking
• Search history
• Advertisement profile 
• Apps you use
• Youtube history
• Data that can fill millions of Word documents

The article provides links so you can discover what information is currently stored about you. You will also notice that since this article ran 2 years ago, it has gotten easier for you to adjust your privacy profiles. I found the advertising profile most intriguing.

Click here to see the advertising profile that they have created for you. Here was a portion of what they seemed to have figured out for me, some accurate, others not so much. Ok, age, gender and credit cards (all those Google searches for articles) seems accurate. Country music, performance vehicles and combat sports, well, it seems my son may be using my laptop more than I thought. 

About the Author

Tim Ranzetta

Tim's saving habits started at seven when a neighbor with a broken hip gave him a dog walking job. Her recovery, which took almost a year, resulted in Tim getting to know the bank tellers quite well (and accumulating a savings account balance of over $300!). His recent entrepreneurial adventures have included driving a shredding truck, analyzing executive compensation packages for Fortune 500 companies and helping families make better college financing decisions. After volunteering in 2010 to create and teach a personal finance program at Eastside College Prep in East Palo Alto, Tim saw firsthand the impact of an engaging and activity-based curriculum, which inspired him to start a new non-profit, Next Gen Personal Finance.

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