How Google Makes Billions Off You—And How To Opt Out | Incognito Mode | WIRED

Google generates nearly 75% of its revenue, amounting to $264 billion in 2024, from advertising, a business model fueled by user data. This data, encompassing location, search history, browsing habits, and even potential health information, is integral to Google's ad ecosystem, enabling highly targeted advertising. Despite privacy features, the company continues to profit from the vast amount of information collected.

The company's extensive reach is evident across its platforms: Google Chrome dominates the browser market with 67.9%, YouTube has 122 million daily active users, Gmail serves over 1.8 billion users, Android holds over 71% of the global OS market share, Google Maps boasts 2 billion monthly users, and Google Search commands nearly 90% of its market. While other revenue streams exist, advertising remains the primary driver.

Google employs various methods for data collection, including explicit inputs like search and watch history, and passive techniques such as cookies and device fingerprinting. While Google claims to anonymize data and sell audience access rather than direct data, the ability to re-identify individuals from anonymized data, coupled with the evolving capabilities of AI, raises concerns about future data usage. The company has also faced legal challenges and settlements regarding its data collection practices.

• In 2024, Google generated $264 billion, nearly 75% of its revenue, from advertising.
• Google's dominance is reflected in market shares: Chrome (67.9%), Android (71%), Google Search (90%).
• Data collection includes search history, location, browsing, and passive methods like cookies and fingerprinting.
• Google sells access to audiences, not direct data, using real-time bidding for targeted ads.
• Despite anonymization claims and privacy settings, concerns remain about data re-identification and future AI-driven usage, with Google having faced lawsuits for its practices.

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Google's Advertising Revenue [00:08]

• In 2024, Google made nearly 75% of its revenue from advertising alone, totaling $264 billion.
• This advertising model is powered by user data, making ads highly effective and targeted.

This section highlights the immense financial success derived from Google's advertising business, emphasizing the critical role of user data in its profitability.

And while pretty much everybody knows that Google makes money from advertising, which makes all these services free or mostly free, you might not know how deep it goes.

Google's Vast Online Reach [00:48]

• Google Chrome holds 67.9% of the worldwide browser market share.
• YouTube has 122 million daily active users.
• Gmail is the most popular email service with over 1.8 billion users worldwide.
• Android holds over 71% of the global OS market share.
• Google Maps has 2 billion monthly users.
• Google Search owns nearly 90% of the search market share.
• While Google has other revenue streams like cloud services and selling phones, the vast majority comes from ads.
• Google began serving ads around 25 years ago, and they have become increasingly targeted.

This part details the significant market dominance of Google's various platforms, underscoring its pervasive presence in the digital landscape and the long-standing nature of its advertising business.

If you spend any time online, you've seen these ads become increasingly targeted.

Types of Data Google Collects [01:54]

• Users can find Google's data collection practices by checking the developer privacy disclosure in app stores.
• Categories of data collected include location, contact info, search history, browsing history, identifiers, and analytics like purchases and user contacts.
• In contrast, a privacy-centric browser like Brave collects only usage data and identifiers.

This section clarifies the breadth of personal information that Google gathers, contrasting it with more privacy-focused alternatives.

To find out, all you have to do is go to your app store and look under the developer privacy disclosure.

Methods of Data Collection: Inputs and Passive [02:31]

• Data collection is categorized into "inputs" (search history, YouTube watch history, browsing data, map searches) and "passive collection" (cookies, fingerprinting, location tracking).
• Passive collection occurs in the background, even when not actively inputting information, such as when location is needed for "near me" searches.

This explains the two primary mechanisms through which Google acquires user data, distinguishing between active user engagement and background data gathering.

Then there's passive collection, and you might not know this is happening.

Understanding Cookies and Their Use [03:00]

• Cookies are small data files downloaded by websites to store usage information about a user's activity.
• Google uses various cookies, including "functionality cookies" that enable website operation and "advertising cookies."
• Advertising cookies track ad performance and user online behavior, preferences, and browsing patterns across the internet.
• These Google cookies are persistent across the web and are downloaded even if not using Chrome, unless actively blocked.
• While not inherently malicious, cookies are the primary method for tracking and data collection, fueling the surveillance economy.
• Google reversed its decision to end third-party cookies in Chrome at the end of 2024, continuing to allow them.

This section demystifies cookies, explaining their function, the types Google utilizes, and their significance in tracking user behavior, particularly for advertising purposes.

At the most basic, cookies are little bits of data that websites download under your browser to store little bits of information about your usage.

Fingerprinting as a Tracking Method [04:29]

• Fingerprinting involves collecting data about a user's device to create a unique ID, which can identify the user for personalized advertising.
• Data collected can include operating system, device type, and even battery drain speed.
• Unlike cookies, which track online activity, fingerprinting focuses on the unique characteristics of a specific device.
• While cookies can be deleted or blocked, changing one's device frequently is impractical, making fingerprinting a more concerning tracking method for privacy advocates.
• Google changed its policies in February 2025, seemingly allowing fingerprinting after previously banning it.

This elaborates on device fingerprinting as an alternative and potentially more invasive tracking method, highlighting its persistent nature compared to cookies.

Every iPhone is unique. Every computer is unique and because you're the primary user of that computer, those characteristics are tied to you used to create a unique ID that's then used to serve you personalized ads.

How Google Sells Ad Access, Not Data [04:44]

• Google claims it does not sell user data directly but instead sells access to audiences on its ad platforms.
• Advertisers can select specific demographics, like age and income brackets, for their ads.
• This is facilitated through a real-time bidding process that segments users into "buckets" based on various characteristics.
• Google states that the data used for targeting is anonymized, preventing advertisers from accessing individual data directly.
• This allows for the delivery of highly personalized advertisements.

This clarifies Google's business model regarding advertising, emphasizing that they offer targeting capabilities rather than direct sales of personal information.

Using Google's ad platforms, an advertiser can pick exactly who they want to advertise to.

Concerns Regarding Data Anonymization and AI [06:44]

• Studies suggest that anonymized data can still be used to identify individuals, raising doubts about the effectiveness of anonymization.
• The sheer volume of information a large company holds about individuals is a significant concern.
• The rise of AI, including Google's Gemini, amplifies these concerns, although Google states it uses only publicly available data for training its models.
• There are no laws in the US preventing Google from changing its data usage policies in the future, despite current policies.

This section addresses the potential loopholes in data anonymization and the future implications of AI, especially concerning a company with extensive user data.

Secondly, you might not want a big company that's going to do whatever it's going to do with your data having such a wealth of information about you.

Google's Past Legal Issues and Privacy Measures [07:37]

• Google has faced lawsuits and settlements for misleading people about its location tracking practices.
• Legal actions include a lawsuit by DC and three other states alleging deceptive practices to gain location data.
• The company also faced a class-action lawsuit for collecting sensitive health information and privacy settlements for facial data collected in Google Photos.
• Even when blocking Google servers, some apps may break, making it difficult to avoid Google entirely.
• Users can take steps to protect privacy by switching to privacy-focused browsers like Brave, avoiding Google's apps, and adjusting privacy settings (ad settings, location history, deleting search/browsing history).
• The principle is that if a product is free, the user is likely the product.

This highlights past legal challenges and settlements related to Google's data collection and outlines actionable steps individuals can take to enhance their privacy.

As a rule of thumb, if a product is free, that probably means you're the product.