Don’t worry, Google is watching!

In the past couple of years, much controversy has been spilled over the data collection and privacy issues with the big internet firms including the likes of Google and Facebook.

I do say that data is being collected and even data that I probably did not openly agree to share. Otherwise, there was no way for FB to show me an advertisement about the brand whose banner I just saw on the back of a bus while crossing the street.

And talking about coincidence, there have been a little too many to leave it all on a God other than the internet.

This article is not about criticizing the big players but rather to offer an alternate perspective towards their data collection policy.

Keep calm for I am about to tell you the exact chain of events that made me believe in this optimism.

When I was in college in my final year I was working on a project for my final thesis. The project was going great, until in the last month before completion a major component broke down.

Now this component was not usually known to break down and was being used in the college lab for the past 6–7 years without any complaints ever.

But I guess we had to be the unlucky ones and so no one particularly knew how to arrange a replacement at such short notice. This led us (into another mini project) in the quest to find the rare component.

We enquired for it at nearly every shop, talked to every lab technician and even did research online but our hands were still empty.

(Friends believe it was the position of Mars in our sun signs that led to this fate but I don’t believe astrology can explain anything, yet)

We had lost all hope and decided to shorten our project in order to remove the study related to that component. We had just a week’s time before our final presentation, so to move forward.

It was a Friday that day and we had scheduled a meeting with our mentor at 5:00 in the evening. We were going to discuss the modifications we have had to make to the project. We reached our professors cabin 10–15 mins earlier, in all our anxiety but he wasn’t there yet.

So, while waiting outside in the hallway I did what most of my generation does these days to pass time away. Scroll away these moments on Facebook, not the most productive thing to do but better than staring at the wall in anxiety.

I took out my phone and before I could open Facebook, I saw an article recommended by Google in my News Feed. It was from an unpopular DIY website whose name I don’t even remember now. But it had a very interesting title, so I opened it.

Just 2 minutes into the article and I realised that the application of this DIY project was essentially a workaround to the study of my rare component. That was my Eureka moment.

In all my excitement I called my professor and lied to him about why I would not be able to make it for the meeting as I was sick. So, we rescheduled it for Monday and over the most hectic weekend of the entire month, we completed the project exactly the way we had planned it in the beginning of the semester.

It might seem like little exaggeration but had Google not recommended me this article I would have scored a much lesser grade than a perfect 10.

Now when I think about things in retrospect, Google has also helped me earlier in similar ways. Honourable mentions on this list include a steal deal on my favourite pair of sneakers and an internship opportunity with a big brand among various others that I had just taken for granted or chance events.

Collecting data based on your interests and using a personalized advertising ID not only helps corporations make profits but also helps you find what you are looking for faster.

If you are still looking for a moral conclusion to this debate, here is my opinion. Data is collected but your personal details being sent to a guy behind the screen who can sabotage your life is highly unlikely (unless you happen to be the most important man of the country).

My best bet is that data is being analysed based on a complicated algorithm to design the best experience of the services for you (the customer). I (and you) should probably not worry about the agencies overhearing through my phone’s mic the conversation about my fear of spiders with my best friend.

Originally published at linkedin.com.