I was pressured/forced at various times to create one in order to use Google services. I can't remember the details, but I do remember feeling annoyed at Google that it wasn't 100% clear how to opt out or hide things to the maximum amount, made worse by the fact that this un-asked-for task was between me and trying to achieve my original intent.

Since I didn't actually want one, a private one, which was effectively empty, was the next best thing.