http://www.nytimes.com/2015/04/27/technology/the-latest-fashion-trending-on-google.html?_r=0

Lisa Green, who heads Google's fashion and luxury team, said the company had begun working with major retailers, including Calvin Klein, to help them incorporate real-time Google search data into fashion planning and forecasting. "Fast fashion" companies, for example, can take a trend identified by Google and run with it, Ms. Green said.

[Just saw this opinion thingy and thought I'd see what happens]

I think the reality is that they (and others) are already embedded, entrenched, and mining your life daily.  They are just now more comfortable publicly talking about it as (supposedly aggregated, non-PI) marketing & revenue streams since the general public hasn't revolted to the lack-of-privacy news reports over the last year or two.

<added>

>trending

Now think about the upcoming 2016 US elections and the data that they'll sell to the politicos and lobbyists.  I have no doubt that the big dogs of search, algos, and data mining will soon -if not already- have the power to accurately forecast likely results.  That, in turn, will produce if-then action plans that could alter the results.

The only way to resist is quit using Google to search and quit using their services.  Also, use an ad blocker.  (I've been resisting the ad blockers, because I feel website owners needed to get compensated for their efforts, but the pop ups, interstatials, spam surveys, like-us-on-FB begging overlays and howelsecanweannoythecr*poutofourvistors floating spam has just about got me ready to block everyone.)

Anyway, with Google controlling the majority of ads and ad tracking I reckon blocking their ads would hurt if enough people do it.

Anyone know of a cookie blocker that singles out Google ad cookies?

Point being, we all complain but nothing will change until people quit using Google.

"Point being, we all complain but nothing will change until people quit using Google."

and THAT is not about to happen in this century - SAD 

While G is the most visible, it is just the proverbial tip of the iceberg.  Amazon, for instance, has equally revealing marketing profiles on you.  I strongly believe that the only real defense is purposefully making your profile ambiguous.

<added>

Having been involved in building two post-mortem profiles using forensic accounting, I can attest that you are, indeed, what you buy.  The only true defense is to go to cash.

>century

Probably true.  But look at the whole environmental movement, it started out with just a few people on the fringe changing their lifestyle, conserving and recycling, etc. And that has grown until it is mainstream. Same thing can happen with online privacy to a large degree everybody just has to take a few easy steps at first to disrupt the data collection.

Location Is Your Most Critical Data, and Everyone's Watching

http://www.wired.com/2015/04/location/

tl;dr  Dump the cell, too.

>iceberg

Agreed. Short of going off grid and living in a tar paper shack in Montana, you ain't going to avoid profiling.

However, screwing over Google specifically and their profiling is much easier than trying to avoid all profiling and probably worth doing in and of itself, or as entertainment.

>or as entertainment

Or as a 'conscientious objector', gadfly, or anti-profiling libertarian.

### anti-profiling libertarian ###

they're already ingrained into every part of our (the masses) lives every single way...

So, Brad, it's pretty simple. Dump the

[1] credit/debit cards
[2] browsing
[3] cell

and you're likely to be under the radar. You will, of course, be immediately added to the no-fly and other terrorist watchlists because you'll now fit that profile.

I look at it like putting locks on the doors to your house: You can buy Walmart locks or you can pay a bit more and get something better from a locksmith, but neither is going to protect you from someone kicking the door in.  They *looks around* will always get in if they are determined enough.  The trick is not to make it easy for them, the more you make them work the bigger the chance - they - will go after lower hanging fruit. 

1. Recognize right from the outset, that you are not going to keep the government out if they really want your data. But that said there are other lowlifes who you can make things harder for: Search companies, ISP's, advertisers, Creepy Eric, hackers and the like. Some of these are fairly benign and others have evil intent.

2. Use a search engine that does not track you. (This is probably the easiest for joe-average user.)

3. Silo your information and cloud providers.  Don't just use Dropbox, use Dropbox and Box and iCloud, splitting your information between them.  Don't just use Gmail, use gmail AND Yahoo! Mail!. Ditto on OS's.  This way if some hacker breaks into one service they don't get everything. 

4. Be careful what personal info you reveal online.

5. If you can be bothered, encrypt.

6. Use good anti-virus protection and anti-spy/malware. Be careful where you go.

7. Bore them to death with the routine dreariness of your life. Bore them so bad that they will wander off looking for naughty pics people send each other over Y! messenger.

8. Never underestimate how often one hand does not know what the other is doing. (see also siloing above). Remember, while the NSA was collecting meta data on every phone call ever placed ever by everybody, Putin was secretly invading Crimea and taking almost everyone by surprise.

Do I do all these? Heck no, too much trouble, but I do some of them more to befuddle low level opportunists than anything.  But I go out of my way a bit to buy some organic foods and some recycled or eco-friendly products, why can't I do the same thing selectively when it comes to online privacy or just not handing G everything on a silver platter?