One privacy change for 2026

5 snips

Jan 25, 2026

They talk about giving up Google Search and why that single change can reshape your privacy habits. The conversation covers what Google records about searches and ad clicks. Listeners hear why Brave Search was chosen and how other private search options compare. The limits and risks of AI-powered search platforms are also explored.

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ANECDOTE

Giving Up Google Search

David Ruiz stopped using Google Search after finding Google recorded over 8,000 searches in 18 months.
He discovered Google also tracked which sponsored results he clicked, revealing ad-driven profiling.

INSIGHT

Searches Reveal Life Events

Search histories reveal not just queries but life events like moving or home projects.
That combined data fuels ad targeting and Google’s massive ad revenue.

ADVICE

Limit What You Share Deliberately

Treat companies like people and limit what you share with those you don't trust.
Decide incrementally which Google services to stop telling about your life to reduce exposure.

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When you hear the words “data privacy,” what do you first imagine?

Maybe you picture going into your social media apps and setting your profile and posts to private. Maybe you think about who you’ve shared your location with and deciding to revoke some of that access. Maybe you want to remove a few apps entirely from your smartphone, maybe you want to try a new web browser, maybe you even want to skirt the type of street-level surveillance provided by Automated License Plate Readers, which can record your car model, license plate number, and location on your morning drive to work.

Importantly, all of these are “data privacy,” but trying to do all of these things at once can feel impossible.

That’s why, this year, for Data Privacy Day, Malwarebytes Senior Privacy Advocate (and Lock and Code host) David Ruiz is sharing the one thing he’s doing different to improve his privacy. And it’s this: He’s given up Google Search entirely.

When Ruiz requested the data that Google had collected about him last year, he saw that the company had recorded an eye-popping 8,000 searches in just the span of 18 months. And those 8,000 searches didn’t just reveal what he was thinking about on any given day—including his shopping interests, his home improvement projects, and his late-night medical concerns—they also revealed when he clicked on an ad based on the words he searched. This type of data, which connects a person’s searches to the likelihood of engaging with an online ad, is vital to Google’s revenue, and it’s the type of thing that Ruiz is seeking to finally cut off.

So, for 2026, he has switched to a new search engine, Brave Search.

Today, on the Lock and Code podcast, Ruiz explains why he made the switch, what he values about Brave Search, and why he also refused to switch to any of the major AI platforms in replacing Google.

Tune in today.

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For all our cybersecurity coverage, visit Malwarebytes Labs at malwarebytes.com/blog.

Show notes and credits:

Intro Music: “Spellbound” by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)

Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Outro Music: “Good God” by Wowa (unminus.com)

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