Google probably knows you better than your closest friends and family. Every time you search or watch a YouTube video, the search giant quietly collects information that is used to personalize your profile and serve you targeted ads. But a new tool called My Activity makes it easier than ever to see what information Google stores about you and delete the information you want it to forget. Here’s what you need to know about this new tool and how it can help you manage your privacy.
So what exactly is my activity?
It’s basically a timeline that shows you the information Google has saved about your online activity going back to what Google has been tracking. You can find it by visiting https://myactivity.google.com. (Note: You may be prompted to re-enter your password as a security measure.) Once you’re logged in, there should be a large, chronological list of the things you’ve done using Google services—the searches you’ve made, the videos you’ve watched on YouTube, and so on (assuming, of course, that you haven’t used Google’s privacy controls to prevent the collection of certain information).
You can even search the database to find specific records or activities saved by Google (such as when you searched for plantar wart home remedies), or filter your timeline by date or activity type.
You said I can delete things?
Yes! If you don’t want Google to remember plantar wart searches, or when you binge-watch a video of a cat in a shark costume riding a Roomba, it’s easy to delete it. First, you need to find the record you want to delete, which you can easily do via the search bar at the top of the page. Once you’ve found a shameful online past in your timeline, you can open a small menu by clicking on the three vertical dots at the right end of the record. Select the Delete option on that menu and voila – Google will forget about it!
You can also delete content in bulk by clicking the three-dot menu at the top of the timeline, selecting “Delete Activity” and selecting the date range you want to delete on the next page. If you want to go completely blank, select the “All time” option.
What if I want Google to stop tracking this data?
You are in luck! You can “pause” Google’s data collection at any time. To lock everything down, go to https://myaccount.google.com/activitycontrols. From there, you can tell Google to stop saving information about your searches, location history, YouTube viewing habits, and more.
But if looking back at your My Activity timeline makes you a little paranoid, Google’s Privacy Checkup might be worth it, too. The feature, found at https://myaccount.google.com/privacycheckup/, uses a simple interface to help you manage not only the data saved by Google, but also what information may be exposed through services like Google+.
Is there any harm in deleting my history or preventing Google from saving it entirely?
Well, Google certainly has one: The search giant makes most of its revenue from distributing targeted ads, and the vast amount of data they have about their users’ online activities makes this easier. But this means limiting the data they save may result in you seeing ads that are less relevant to your interests. In addition to ads, Google uses this information to help personalize its products based on users’ preferences, which can mean a more convenient online experience. For example, Google says that letting it save your search history could mean it can return results faster, while letting it retain location history could help it suggest better commuting options in its mapping products. So really, it’s a trade-off.
