by Dave Moore, CISSP, 7-18-21
How would you like to know what’s in your Google file? What if you could find out what Facebook knows (and shares) about you? Videos, blogs, photos, contacts, comments, “likes,” Tweets, website visits, clicks on links, views of YouTube items, Google search terms and results, and, yes, Facebook posts, are all designed to last forever. “Once on the Web, always on the Web.”
To download your Google file, visit http://takeout.google.com/settings/takeout and sign in to your Google account. If you have more than one Google account, as many people do, you will need to sign in and go through the process for each account.
After answering a few questions, Google will create an “archive” of all your data. Pick which of the many Google services you want included, including GMail, Google Maps, Calendar, Google Chrome, Classroom, Contacts, Google Drive, Streetview, Photos, Youtube, Search, etc. I chose to have them email me a download link I could click on to download my file. They warn you that it may take a long time (up to a day or so) to receive the link, although mine was ready in about an hour. Once you receive the link, and click on it, it could take a while to download the file, as they can sometimes be huge. Be prepared to wait it out.
The file will download in the .zip format. On a Windows PC, right-click the file and select Extract all. Go with the default location and click Extract. On a Mac, double-click the .zip file and it will extract. From the long list of extracted files that is made, double-click the one called index.html to read your file.
Google warns that downloading your personal information file is not the same as deleting it. As near as I can tell, the only way to delete your file is to close your account and shut it down for good. That’s a pretty drastic move, but if someone wants a “fresh start,” with a presumably clean Google record, that may be what has to happen.
To get some semblance of control over private information that Google may or may not have, visit myaccount.google.com and run both the Security Checkup and Privacy Checkup. You’ll want to carefully review each section here, including the “My Activity” section to turn things around to your advantage.
Facebook keeps a record of pretty much everything you’ve ever done on their playground, and you may want to find out what’s there before someone else does.
To download your Facebook file, sign in to your account and, in the blue Facebook toolbar at the top, click the little triangle all the way at the right end. From the menu that appears, pick Settings, which is near the bottom of the list, the Settings & Privacy, and then, Settings, again. Then, on the left side, click “Your Facebook Information.”
You will be presented with a long list of different types of information you can view, manage, copy and download. It can be a little intimidating, but stick with it. If you really want to know what Facebook has on you, this is how it’s done.
Make a folder to save all your different items into, including the stuff you get from Google. Then, sit back, start reading and brace yourself; you may not like what you find.
Dave Moore, CISSP, has been fixing computers in Oklahoma since 1984. Founder of the non-profit Internet Safety Group Ltd, he also teaches Internet safety community training workshops. He can be reached at 405-919-9901 or internetsafetygroup.org