Google: Who does the search engine think YOU are?

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Over the past few days you may have seen a few people tweet random stuff about who Google thinks they are “It thinks I’m a man!”, “It thinks I like cats!” or “It thinks I’m 70!”. Don’t worry, Google hasn’t suddenly taken human form and started hurling abuse at your mates, instead they’ve accessed the profile that Google has made of all of its account holders.

It may all sound very Big Brother, but Google basically takes a look at what you’re browsing online and then makes up a profile about you so it can give you the most targeted advertising in the future.

It then builds up a list of all the topics you’re into and (often hilariously) your age and gender based on other people that look at similar sites.

The profile page is hidden away in the depths of Google in Ad Preferences and unless you’re into advertising and have gone looking for that kind of information in the past, you’d never have known it was there.

Go check out who Google thinks you are, I’m apparently 35-44 (I’m 25) and male (I’m female). My categories are a little more accurate, with gadgets, fitness and headphones coming up top, but hip-hop, DJ equipment and vehicle wheels are things I’d happily go for the rest of my life without.

Let us know how correct (or how very very incorrect) your profile is…

Becca Caddy