Google being almost everywhere on the web, it is often difficult to determine when you are very concretely transmitting data to the firm. Of course, Alphabet the parent company provides access to a series of histories that allow you to see what the firm keeps, for example, from your searches on Google and other sites like YouTube. But it is not necessarily possible to know everything that happens outside of these cases.

Even though user analytics data is collected by Google for many (if not most) third-party sites, those primarily affected are rarely aware of the data collection that is taking place. That’s why an independent developer has just launched an experimental application, which sounds an alert as soon as you send data to Google.

This application beeps as soon as Google collects data about you

The application, called Googerteller is currently only available on Linux. As soon as something is sent to Google the computer sends an audible feedback. We thus notice that as soon as we type something in the address bar, everything is sent directly, letter after letter, to the firm. But government sites are also affected.

For example, the developer shows in the video shown at the end of the article that absolutely all the links from the Rijksoverheid.nl site, which is somewhat the equivalent of a job center in the Netherlands but only for jobs in the administration, trigger an alert. Even though this is normally invisible to the user. The site in question is governmental, and does not feature any Google logo or branding.

According to Android Authority, the operation of the program is very simple: it monitors all connections to a list of IP addresses known to be used by Google. In case of connection, the program thus plays an alert in return. The application is free, although it is currently only available on Linux.

Read also – Android – Google warns of dozens of apps that steal your data

Note, however, that smart guys have already managed to bring it to macOS. Unfortunately, beyond the alerts, it would undoubtedly have been interesting to be able to consult the details of the data sent to Google, as well as to have information on the reason for which this data is collected, and its purpose. What Googerteller, for the time being, does not know how to do.