As others have kinda pointed out: it's the amount of data they store. I think it is less about who you should trust to do the right thing and more of how much

As others have kinda pointed out: it's the amount of data they store. I think it is less about who you should trust to do the right thing and more of how much you trust an individual group to be able and willing to maintain the security of the data they have. That is to say: it is more about the ratio of <stored data>/<security of stored data> rather than either of those values. Google stores more data than I personally trust anybody to be able to store. Largely because they make themselves a huge target. Equifax is a great example of storing WAY too much data. Sure, their practices are to blame, but I'd argue that them storing half the information they do is better than doubling their security (whatever that means). This is due to the compounding effect of being a smaller target. DDG at least claims to not store as much of that information. > When was the last time Google leaked your data. If Google has one major leak, does the historical quantity of leaks matter? EDIT: more thoughts.