The Google
Surveillance Detector

We’ve built a simple browser extension that warns you anytime you visit a site with Google tracking code running in the background.
See for yourself just how hard it is to use the internet without falling into Google’s surveillance net:

Get extension for Chrome

How to quit using Google

Unlike Google’s services, this extension doesn’t save, collect, or report any data.
The open source code can be viewed and inspected, and it is easy to delete when you are done.

Google's Surveillance Web:
An offer you can't refuse

It’s no secret internet giants like Google collect your data when you visit their sites. That’s the deal—you get to use free software, they get to collect all your data to target you with ads.

But what if you decide you don’t like this bargain? Google claims you can stop whenever you like. For a decade, it’s told Congress that “Competition is a click away.”

That’s just not true. In fact, it’s virtually impossible to avoid using Google’s services if you want to use the web—something the company deliberately obscures.

To learn how, we’ve created a browser extension—the Google Surveillance Detector—that shows you whenever Google is monitoring you online. We’ve also created a step-by-step explainer showing how to quit using Google. Spoiler: it’s way harder than you imagine.

Google is Inescapable

When most people think of “Google Services”, they think of the Google Search engine, or Gmail, or Google Maps. But Google’s tentacles stretch far beyond its own sites. In fact, 80% of all the sites you visit on the internet have Google services running in the background, collecting your data and sending it back to Google.

Each time you visit the IRS, The New York Times, your child’s school website, or even the White House site, you’re using a Google service. These “stealth” services include:

DOUBLECLICK

Anytime you land a site using DoubleClick to show you ads, Google gets your IP address, your location, the site you’re visiting, and a unique identifier for your browser. Google associates this data with a personal identifier to create a comprehensive record of your browsing behavior.

GOOGLE ANALYTICS

Google’s suite of tools – boasting 83% share of the web analytics market – helps website owners measure their site’s performance. But this data also gets shared with Google, which can associate your browsing habits back to your personal identifier.

ADSENSE

Anytime you visit a site running AdSense to show you ads, Google receives personally identifiable data on your browsing history and location.

YOUTUBE

Any website that embeds a YouTube video also becomes a vacuum for your personal data. When you arrive on the site, Google is sent your IP address and the website address, adding to their trove of your private browsing history.

WHEN DID I CONSENT TO THAT?

Anytime you’re on a site using one its hidden services, Google gives itself permission to collect your data. You didn’t consent? Not logged into Google? Don’t have a Google account? Tough luck. Google stores information about your online behavior even if you’re not signed into a Google account. Even if you don’t even HAVE a Google account. Even if you’ve never agreed to their terms and conditions. Google’s policies allow it to collect and store:

ANDROID USERS HAVE EVEN LESS PRIVACY

If you own an Android phone, Google tracks your every move. A recent investigation by the Associated Press found: “Google wants to know where you go so badly that it records your movements even when you explicitly tell it not to.” Another study by Vanderbilt University’s Douglas Schmidt found that a dormant Android phone sends location information back to Google an average of 14 times per hour. Google even has the ability to associated “anonymous” data with the personal information of individual users.

Big brother is watching you—everywhere

It isn’t just online. As Google wires up the “smart home” with Google Home speakers, Nest thermostats, smoke alarms and video cameras, their ability to track your every move continues to grow. Google has patented technologies that create a unique voice profile for anyone within earshot of its voice-recognition hardware. Then it can determine the “gender, age, fashion taste, style, mood, known languages and preferred activities.” If you visit friends or family with Google’s sensors in their homes, you’ll also end up in its surveillance web. Once again, Google can track you without your knowledge or consent.

THE GOOGLE SURVEILLANCE DETECTOR

HAND

See for yourself just how hard it is to use the internet without falling into Google’s surveillance net. When are you using Google services and when is Google collecting your information? The answer may surprise you.

Unlike Google’s services, this extension doesn’t save, collect, or report any data. The open source code can be viewed and inspected, and it is easy to delete when you’re done.

See how long you can surf the internet before running into Google’s web. Can you make it a whole day? Can you make it even one hour?

Then ask yourself: Is Google being honest when it says “Competition is a click away?”