In this NYT op-ed, law professor Lori Andrews explains, “Ads that pop up on your screen might seem useful, or at worst, a nuisance. But they are much more than that. The bits and bytes about your life can easily be used against you. Whether you can obtain a job, credit or insurance can be based on your digital doppelgänger — and you may never know why you’ve been turned down. “

If you don’t already use the free Scroogle service to protect your searches, I highly recommend it. Scroogle is an ad-free, privacy-obsessed, backdoor google that fits right into your browser and prevents your search data from being tracked. I’ve been using it for years and it works like a charm. Your search data will not be collected and misused by third parties as described by Andrews, or otherwise distorted as described by Eli Pariser in his explanation of “filter bubbles.”  In recent weeks Scroogle appears to be undergoing increased attacks from Google, but it keeps coming back.