What steps do I need to take in order to protect my privacy?

In absolute terms, you'd have to identify and block each channel through which personal information may be relayed. This, however, would mean not touching any Google service at all and might not be practical or doable by everyone.

The biggest privacy concern is having data from multiple services linked through one account ("The whole is more than the sum of its parts"). If you want to use Google services, you should use a different account for each one of them and you should also close accounts regularly. As far as Raccoon is concerned:

• Use throw away accounts that are used for nothing except accessing Play.
• Use giftcards (bought with cash) to avoid having to register a credit card when you want to buy apps.
• Avoid apps that require an online license check. These call home.
• Some people suggest that Google tracks you via IP address. This can neither be confirmed nor rejected. You can hide your IP address by either using a proxy or a VPN. If neither is an option, force a new IP address by resetting your router whenever you need to establish a session with Google servers.