- Steps to find how much data Google has stored based on your browsing history,
- Reviewing the history of data searched and locations,
- Deleting data or set automatic delete over a certain period.
Google users should look at few important aspects of how to manage their activities on Google, users should control Google services like search and maps to personalize their results, there are few steps to help users protecting their privacy as well as saving time and data whenever they use the Google Application.
The first step to control Google search and Google locations through maps, users should first sign into their Google Account and choose Data & Personalization from the navigation bar. The option will then lead them to different stages that should be done to protect the Application from storing browsed history and the locations.
Google user can view a list of activities that Google has logged, scroll to Activity controls and select Web & App Activity. This is where all their Google searches, YouTube viewing history, Google Assistant commands and other interactions with Google apps and services are recorded, users can also view a list of all their location data that Google has logged by scrolling to Activity controls and select Location History.
For one to stop Google tracking their searches or to turn it completely off, one should move the toggle to the off position. Users must be careful about changing this setting, this will make any Google Assistant devices like Google Home and Google Nest smart speakers and displays, virtually unusable, likewise for the Google maps, if users want to stop Google from tracking their location, they should turn off the toggle on the selected page.
If users want to stop google from tracking Chrome browser history and activity from sites they sign into with Google account, they should uncheck the first box. If they want to clear audio recordings from Google Assistant, they should uncheck the second box. For Google maps to set automatically delete this kind of data either never or every three or 18 months, select Auto-delete then click the time frame they are comfortable with. Google will delete any current data older than the time frame selected. After choosing auto-delete, users should confirm or cancel the settings.
Another option to control Google activities is Manage Activity. This page displays all the information Google has collected on the user from the activities mentioned in the previous steps, arranged by date, all the way back to the day created the account to the last visited the browser. Deleting the days is done by selecting the trash can icon to the right of the day then choose Got it. To get more specific details or to delete individual items, select the three stacked dots icon beside the item then choose either Delete or Details.
For the location settings, users should also click Manage Activity, the page will display all the location information Google has collected data as a timeline and a map, including places you’ve visited, the route you took there and back, as well as frequency and dates of visits. To delete all location history, one should click on the trash can icon in the lower right corner and choose Delete Location History when prompted. Use can also delete individual trips by selecting a dot on the map or a bar on the timeline, then, on the next page, click the trash can icon beside the date of the trip they want to delete.
The last step for users is to make sure that their new settings are done, head back to Manage Activity mentioned before and make sure whatever’s there only goes back to the selected period, for instance, if they choose three months. Google users should also make sure that their location data disappeared, taking a rerun from Activity Controls, then after Manage Activity, they should make sure the timeline in the upper left corner is empty and there are no dots on the map indicating the previous locations.
It is the best way for Google users to protect their privacy as well as managing their activities on Google by following the mentioned steps, to save data especially when Google track their searches and location, it then uses the information to send irrelevant information and unnecessary ads hence wasting time and data.
