I read that https encrypts your information. So for example your isp won’t know exactly what you’re looking at, just the website you’re connecting to. My question is how far does that encryption go. If I google “what does https do?” how does google know I looked that up if my connection is supposed to be encrypted?
Another example would be youtube. From what I understand my isp would know I’m on youtube and likely watching a video due to my bandwith, but they wouldn’t know which video I’m watching. However youtube would know. Why is that?
In: Technology
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Because the “Encryption” is a shared secret between you and the website you’re talking to. Google knows what you looked up because you and Google are the ones that have the keys to the encryption.
Same with Youtube. You connect to Youtube, the two of you exchange keys, and now you send encrypted messages to Youtube that Youtube decrypts and reads. It then does the same in reverse when sending to you.
Well as far as I can tell…..
Encryption means blocking out all that is not mainly involved.
That is only the Sender(You) and Receiver(Google) gets to know what is sent.
So Google has access to all data that it’s services(Youtube) receives.
But a hacker wouldn’t know what you searched because the person is not Google.
If you have a Android or even Google software installed, Google can access your usage information because you accepted their terms and conditions.They use it to improve services they provide to you (Ads you receive).
So a harmless google search can become an ad.They profile you using the videos you watch on YouTube.
Your browser encrypts the traffic with the key of Googles server. So Google is the only one who can decrypt the traffic. And when you visit Reddit your browser encrypts it with Reddits encryption key and only Reddit can decrypt the data.
Your browser gets the key from the server when it connects. And it knows it is the key of the server because it comes with a certificate that is digitally signed from a certificate provider that is hard coded in your browser or your operating system as a trusted provider.
> If I google “what does https do?” how does google know I looked that up if my connection is supposed to be encrypted?
The encryption is between you and the site you’re accessing. When you’re googling stuff, you’re accessing Google’s servers. The encryption protects the conversation between you and Google, and you’re telling Google what to search for voluntarily.
The encryption there is so that your ISP can’t tell what you’re doing on Google.
> If I google “what does https do?” how does google know I looked that up if my connection is supposed to be encrypted?
How do you think Google is going to know what results to give you if they can’t decrypt your message? The point of encryption is that the entity you are talking to can understand you, otherwise you might as well not send anything.
The information between your browser and google’s servers is encrypted. Think of it like a sealed envelope that only the site you’re communicating with can open. The search you typed gets decrypted on their servers before their software processes the search.
**> If I google “what does https do?” how does google know I looked that up**
You actively asked google a question, you SENT that question to google.
**> Another example would be youtube.**
youtube is owned by google, so they, technically, can take what they want from youtube.
Encryption here is to protect agaisnt people reading transmitting data between you and server. But the things you are concerning are more about cooperation sharing their data to google, which they do on purpose (like youtube).
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