Google is quietly keeping track of every single purchase you have made in years, thanks to purchase receipts sent to your personal Gmail account.
According to a report in CNBC on Friday, the information ismade available to users via a private web tool which, the company claims, keepsyour data private.
Google, however, stressed it does not use the informationfor personalized ad tracking.
In 2017, the tech giant said it would stop using datacollected from Gmail messages to personalize ads.
“To help you easily view and keep track of yourpurchases, bookings and subscriptions in one place, we’ve created a privatedestination that can only be seen by you,” Google told The Verge in astatement.
“You can delete this information at any time. We don’tuse any information from your Gmail messages to serve you ads, and thatincludes the email receipts and confirmations shown on the Purchase page,”the company added.
Google, however, did not say how long this web tool has beenactive.
The company on May 14 announced it will now allow ads toreflect on the homepage of its mobile app.
The ads would be displayed on the “Discover”section of the homepage in a news feed layout and would be algorithmicallypersonalised.
The search-engine giant also plans to then place ads with upto eight pictures in its search results as part of its “Gallery ads”feature.Ads would also appear on the homepage of GoogleShopping, which users would be able to personalise and filter based on featuresthey care about and brands they love.