I'm just going to go down the list of what I've done to make my Google Account a little better. Disclaimer: I have heard Google asking for ID but this has never happened to me. What may work for me may not work for you. Name: Unless you need this for professional work then don't put your real name. Also tutanota and protonmail emails have become more common (especially in Technology fields) so they should be considered "professional." Birthday: Also not your real one, but still easy to remember in case Google ever asks for verification this way. Gender: Doesn't really matter. Enable 2FA (less privacy and more security). Instead of google authenticator, use Aegis for Android or Raivo for iOS. Data and Privacy In history settings, clear and pause all three settings (web activity, location activity, and Youtube History). Turn off ad personalization (clear history if possible). Turn off personal results in search (in case you really need to Google something and Brave Search, Startpage, DDG, Searx, Metager, Kagi, etc. doesn't work somehow and Google does. I'm assuming you can do Google Fit privacy settings if you need to. Turn off location sharing. Limit the number of third party apps that want access to your account. Security Turn off enhanced safe browsing, just in case And yeah that should be pretty substantial. More on reddit.com

Yes Google gives you a lot of control over your account IF you go digging around. By default though, Google hoovers up every little tiny piece of information they can get. Since most users simply stick with default settings, that's where the issue is. I will say that it's not entirely Googles fault though. It's half the users fault for their own ignorance of how the service they use works. The other half is Googles fault for taking advantage of the majority of users ignorance. More on reddit.com

I would NEVER understand why would privacy - savvy people use chrome, or gmail for that mattet. You’re handing over everything. More on reddit.com

Poor Google: the tech giant stated that it was hard to target ads to users when they used conventional data collection on devices such as consoles and TVs because users controlled it with cookie consent More on reddit.com