It seems that Google is tracking your online purchases, recording receipts sent via email to Gmail account.
A report from CNBC brought to light the purchase history that Google has for its users, although this page had existed for at least a year before being revealed as part of a Google Assistant update.
The list of online purchases, including those not from Google, can go back several years. It includes subscriptions, movie and music purchases, and anything a user bought online and received a receipt in their Gmail.
Purchase information is part of a “Payments & subscriptions” page in your Google Account. Google also collects data about flight, hotel, and restaurant reservations from Google Assistant and Gmail.
The purchases page says: “Only you can see your purchases,” which include “transactions, including online orders, collected from Google services like Assistant and Gmail.”.
Clicking on an item displays details about the item, the time of purchase, the currency in which it was paid, and the cost.
There is an “Unpurchase” option, but deleting the item requires deleting the original email it came from.
This option may not be ideal for anyone who relies on Gmail to keep purchase records but doesn't want their purchases tracked by Google, which notes on a support page that "Information about your purchases may also be stored along with your activity and other Google services."
Google has stated that it does not use Gmail information for targeted advertising.
"We don't use any information from your messages to show you ads, and that includes the receipts and email confirmations that appear on the shopping page," a Google spokesperson said.
Other sources from which Google stores purchases include the Google Play Store, Google Express, and purchases made through Google Assistant.
Google told CNBC that it created the “Purchases” page to help you easily track your purchases, reservations, and subscriptions.
The company last week announced a revamped version of Google Shopping, which allows consumers to buy products from a website, a nearby store or from Google.
