Need an answer? Google it. Then do it again.
Consequences? For sure.
And it’s not just that our constant reliance on tech might be making our brains lazier. There are other serious issues to consider.
Whatever we type into that search bar — whether it’s for personal curiosity, helping a friend, or conducting business — it’s stored somewhere. And it’s not always clear how it’s used, or by whom.
Turns out, even browsing in Chrome’s “Incognito” mode doesn’t guarantee privacy. In 2020, a class-action lawsuit was filed against Google (GOOGL) , accusing the tech giant of secretly collecting data through tools like Google Analytics and Ad Manager.
In April 2024, Google agreed to delete billions of records as part of a settlement and agreed to allow incognito users to block third-party cookies for the next five years, and delete older data, writes Times.
“We never associate data with users when they use incognito mode,” Jose Castaneda, Google spokesperson, stated. “We are happy to delete old technical data that was never associated with an individual and was never used for any form of personalization.”
Blue Shield of California has confirmed the largest healthcare data breach of 2025.
Image source: Shutterstock
The majority is concerned about government use of personal data
While companies are increasingly using personal information to create a more personalized experience, some users are aware that this technological advancement comes with a loss of privacy.
Not to mention social media platforms, where people willingly share all kinds of personal information with a lot of people.
Related: Meta Whistleblower reveals disturbing secrets in testimony
Remember how Facebook (META) founder Mark Zuckeberg called his first few thousand users “dumb f*cks” for trusting him with their personal data, according to leaked messages reported by Business Insider?
And that was just the beginning of Facebook, more than 20 years ago. Do you think things could have improved from there?
A 2018 SAS survey revealed that 73% of people were already more concerned about data privacy than just a few years prior.
A 2023 Pew Research Center report found that 71% of Americans worry about how the government uses their data — up from 64% in 2019. Roughly 77% of Americans lack confidence in social media executives to openly acknowledge errors and be accountable when it comes to the mishandling of user data.
So what about health care data breaches?
Blue Shield admits yearslong private health data sharing with Google
Health care data breaches have been increasingly common over the last 14 years, with 2023 seeing more such slipups than any other year since 2009, according to HIPAA Journal, which relied on the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office for Civil Rights (OCR) data.
The newest health care data breach was confirmed on April 9 by health insurance conglomerate Blue Shield of California.
The Oakland-headquartered company and its affiliates provide health, dental, vision, Medicaid, and Medicare health care service plans across the Golden State.
On April 9, Blue Shield of California issued a notice alerting certain members of a potential data breach involving protected health information (PHI) due to misconfigured use of Google Analytics between April 2021 and January 2024.
The company did not confirm any specific member’s data breach, but rather it is notifying all potentially affected users out of caution. The misconfiguration allowed for certain PHI to be shared with Google Ads, which may have been used for targeted advertising.
“Google may have used this data to conduct focused ad campaigns back to those individual members. We want to reassure our members that no bad actor was involved, and, to our knowledge, Google has not used the information for any purpose other than these ads or shared the protected information with anyone,” the notice reads.
The potentially exposed data includes patient name, city, zip code, gender, family size, medical services information, and “Find a Doctor” search criteria and results. Fortunately, there was no disclosure of other types of sensitive information, such as Social Security numbers, driver’s license numbers, or banking or credit card information.
With 4.7 million patients potentially affected, this is the largest health care-related data breach of 2025 so far, writes TechCrunch, citing the U.S. Health Department.
Blue Shield has advised members to monitor account statements and credit reports for any suspicious activity as a precaution.
Related: Mark Zuckerberg’s Facebook, Instagram block new Apple product
