[LINK] Google data collection issues

[David]

On Monday, 23 April 2018 09:48:07 AEST Bernard Robertson-Dunn wrote:
> I know it's the Daily Mail, but it does raise some interesting questions:
> http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-5642049/Google-data-make-7ft-9in-pile-paper-TWO-WEEKS.html
> 
> I don't know enough about Google and/or browsers, or even if it is a specific browser problem, but if you are logged into Google on your smartphone and/or PC, what exactly can Google get at?
> 
> Specifically, if you are also logged into My Health Record, (or any other government website e.g. Centrelink/ATO etc) can Google see and record what data you look at, in addition to websites visited?

I understand it's possible for a website to track the position of the cursor without even clicking on any links.  See for example:
http://stackoverflow.com/questions/7790725/ddg#7790764
https://www.technologyreview.com/s/424054/the-next-big-thing-in-analytics-tracking-your-cursors-every-move/

If someone hovers uncertainly over various links on a page before picking one, the website may have a good indication of preferences.  This is accomplished with Javascript, so disabling Javascript (and Java, of course) except for trusted websites where it's necessary such as the banks (they're trusted?) would be one way of circumventing the problem, though probably an inconvenient one.

I strongly recommend Privacy Badger from eff.org to avoid tracking too.  And I avoid searching with Google, though it has to be said duckduckgo doesn't have the same search precision; of course "precision" is exactly what contributes to the usefulness of search data to Google, Cambridge Analytica, et al.

Call me an old dinosaur, but I've disabled mobile data on my smart-phone except for the rare occasions when I may need it.  I find this simplifies life!

DavidL.