Well lets be honest, Google, Apple, Microsoft all collect information, that they all say isn't used to personally identify an individual, but that's subject to interpretation. They all certainly get an idea of who you are, what you like, how you use the internet, and use that info to target ads and services to each individual. That said, Google is the king of collecting info (data mining). Their business was built on that process from the beginning when Sergey Brin and Larry Page created the search engine and became founders of Google. Apple and Microsoft always had other revenue streams and advertising wasn't the focus. To this day, most of Googles profits come from AdWords, an online advertising service that places ads in search results. In order to target ads and get people to actually click on them you have to know your customer. Google finds out who you are better than all the others. This business model is one of the reason why they bought the rights to Android, bought you tube, and created google+. This gives them more insight into who you are, what you like, and how you use the internet, which lets them target more precise ads, which generates more profits.
Many people willingly give up their personal info by adding that info to their online account profiles, such as name, birth date, location, where they work, likes, dislikes, etc, but much of the info Google uses is gathered thru tracking. Many are fine with this, many are not. I am not, and try to limit the tracking as much as possible. No social media, use IE11 and it's built in tracking blocking feature which allows you to import blocking list into IE, I use a local account on my computer, no Cortana, I don't use any Google services or their search engine, I don't use Andriod, and I limit my you tube use to mostly music videos.
It's all a personal preference and I don't think there is a right or wrong way to use the internet nor is the way Google does business right or wrong. It is what it is and Google is pretty good at what they do.