By . Victoria Woollaston . Tracking people online and showing personalised adverts is already a controversial topic and now Google is set to ruffle feathers further by tracking people in the real world too. According to reports from tech website Digiday, the search giant is testing a program that would follow users around the high street to see which shops they visit. Each time a user enters a store of business, Google would be able check to see if that user looked at adverts for that company online beforehand to check the ad's conversion rate. Google is said to be testing a program that would follow users around the high street, pictured, to see which shops they visit. Each time a user enters a store of business, Google can check to see if that user looked at adverts for that company online to check the ad's conversion rate . Earlier this year Google announced a feature called Estimated Total Conversions, and in particular, Estimated cross-device conversions. As the name suggests, Google plans to use this tool to track conversion rates across devices. For example, if a user shops for jeans on their mobile by clicking on an advert for a particular company, and then buys a product from that company on a desktop browser, Google counts this as a cross-device conversion. To track the customer they have to be signed into their Google account across each of their devices. Recent reports found Google makes around $100 million a day by selling Google Ads to businesses online. It tracks conversion rates online when either a user clicks directly on an advert, or the user visits the website featured in an advert during its browsing session. Google can already access certain information about a user through its own apps, such as the mobile Chrome browser, Google Maps, Gmail and Google+. If users have ‘Location services’ activated and then have one of these apps is open, or running in the background, as they shop on the high street, Google can pinpoint exactly where they are. The location's accuracy is improved if a customer accesses a company's Wi-Fi, for example. In a blogpost . in October, Google hinted at plans to extend how it tracks people and . said: ‘As consumers are increasingly on the go and switching between . devices, marketers are telling us they want to see a more complete and . accurate picture of how their online advertising drives conversions. Google can already access certain information about a user through its own apps, such as the mobile Chrome browser, Google Maps, pictured, and Gmail. If users have 'Location services' activated and then have these apps running in the background as they shop on the high street, Google can pinpoint exactly where they are . ‘Conversions can come in many forms: visits to stores, phone calls, app downloads, website sales or purchases made after consulting various devices.  Getting better insight into these complex purchase paths can help you optimize your online advertising and allocate budget more effectively.’ Earlier this year Google announced a . feature called Estimated Total Conversions, and in particular, Estimated . cross-device conversions. As the name suggests, Google plans to use this tool to track conversion rates across devices. For example, if a user shops for jeans . on their mobile by clicking on an advert for a particular company, and . then buys a product from that company on a desktop browser, Google . counts this as a cross-device conversion. To track the customer they have to be signed into their Google account across each of their devices. Google has not yet responded to MailOnline's request for comment. Nick Pickles, director of privacy campaign group Big Brother Watch, told MailOnline: 'Location data is some of the most sensitive information that can be collected from our phones, with few people realising just how our phones are capable of monitoring our every movement. 'It’s no surprise that Google wants to join its online tracking with snooping on our real-world location to build a more detailed picture of our lives. 'People need to be given a clear choice about when they share their location data, and one vague opt-in when using a map shouldn’t give Google carte blanche to then constantly track our location.'
Google believed to be testing a system that tracks users on the high street .
It could use a person’s location to determine what shop they are in .
Google could then see whether the user looked at an online advert for that shop before visiting .
This could help the company determine conversion rates for its online ads .
Google hinted at plans to extend how it tracked conversions in October .
By . Victoria Woollaston . Tracking people online and showing personalised adverts is already a controversial topic and now Google is set to ruffle feathers further by tracking people in the real world too. According to reports from tech website Digiday, the search giant is testing a program that would follow users around the high street to see which shops they visit. Each time a user enters a store of business, Google would be able check to see if that user looked at adverts for that company online beforehand to check the ad's conversion rate. Google is said to be testing a program that would follow users around the high street, pictured, to see which shops they visit. Each time a user enters a store of business, Google can check to see if that user looked at adverts for that company online to check the ad's conversion rate . Earlier this year Google announced a feature called Estimated Total Conversions, and in particular, Estimated cross-device conversions. As the name suggests, Google plans to use this tool to track conversion rates across devices. For example, if a user shops for jeans on their mobile by clicking on an advert for a particular company, and then buys a product from that company on a desktop browser, Google counts this as a cross-device conversion. To track the customer they have to be signed into their Google account across each of their devices. Recent reports found Google makes around $100 million a day by selling Google Ads to businesses online. It tracks conversion rates online when either a user clicks directly on an advert, or the user visits the website featured in an advert during its browsing session. Google can already access certain information about a user through its own apps, such as the mobile Chrome browser, Google Maps, Gmail and Google+. If users have ‘Location services’ activated and then have one of these apps is open, or running in the background, as they shop on the high street, Google can pinpoint exactly where they are. The location's accuracy is improved if a customer accesses a company's Wi-Fi, for example. In a blogpost . in October, Google hinted at plans to extend how it tracks people and . said: ‘As consumers are increasingly on the go and switching between . devices, marketers are telling us they want to see a more complete and . accurate picture of how their online advertising drives conversions. Google can already access certain information about a user through its own apps, such as the mobile Chrome browser, Google Maps, pictured, and Gmail. If users have 'Location services' activated and then have these apps running in the background as they shop on the high street, Google can pinpoint exactly where they are . ‘Conversions can come in many forms: visits to stores, phone calls, app downloads, website sales or purchases made after consulting various devices.  Getting better insight into these complex purchase paths can help you optimize your online advertising and allocate budget more effectively.’ Earlier this year Google announced a . feature called Estimated Total Conversions, and in particular, Estimated . cross-device conversions. As the name suggests, Google plans to use this tool to track conversion rates across devices. For example, if a user shops for jeans . on their mobile by clicking on an advert for a particular company, and . then buys a product from that company on a desktop browser, Google . counts this as a cross-device conversion. To track the customer they have to be signed into their Google account across each of their devices. Google has not yet responded to MailOnline's request for comment. Nick Pickles, director of privacy campaign group Big Brother Watch, told MailOnline: 'Location data is some of the most sensitive information that can be collected from our phones, with few people realising just how our phones are capable of monitoring our every movement. 'It’s no surprise that Google wants to join its online tracking with snooping on our real-world location to build a more detailed picture of our lives. 'People need to be given a clear choice about when they share their location data, and one vague opt-in when using a map shouldn’t give Google carte blanche to then constantly track our location.'
ad's conversion rate. Google is said to be testing a program that would follow users around the high street, pictured, to see which shops looked at adverts for that company online to businesses online. It tracks conversion rates in the background, as they shop on the high In a blogpost . in October, Google hinted at plans to extend how it tracks people and . said: clicking on an advert for a particular company, location.'