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Think about everything you do on Chrome, Gmail, Google Maps, YouTube, and everything else Google owns, and you’ll get an idea of how much data you’re transmitting to the company every day. For most of us, that’s… a lot.
Whether or not you think data collection and targeted advertising is a worthwhile trade-off for the free apps you get in return, Google at least provides a comprehensive online dashboard you can use to see some of what’s is collected.
You can use it to delete everything Google has already collected, prevent it from collecting anything in the future, or automatically delete your data after a set period (e.g. three months). You can also use these features to clear records if you plan to delete your Google account, although the deletion process should also erase all data associated with your account.
Here’s how to use the options available to you.
Getting started is pretty simple: open your Google account page in your web browser of choice and log in if necessary. From this screen you can see your Google subscriptions, the devices you are signed in to with your Google account, and any passwords you may have saved, among other information.
For now, we are interested in data.
- Click on Data and privacy on the left.
- Seek History Settings. It is divided into three main categories: Web & Apps, Location, and YouTube.
- Click it My activity at the bottom of this section to see a full list of this data. You’ll see everything you’ve done that’s been saved across Google products, starting with the most recent.
- Select Filter by date and product to limit results to certain date ranges or applications.
- To remove a filter you have applied, click the button X next to it at the top of the list.
- Click on any entry in the list to see more details about it if they are available. For example, you can open YouTube videos you’ve watched or websites you’ve visited.
Getting started is pretty simple: open your Google account page in your web browser of choice and log in if necessary. From this screen you can see your Google subscriptions, the devices you are signed in to with your Google account, and any passwords you may have saved, among other information.
For now, we are interested in data.
- Click on Data and privacy on the left.
- Seek History Settings. It is divided into three main categories: Web & Apps, Location, and YouTube.
- Click it My activity at the bottom of this section to see a full list of this data. You’ll see everything you’ve done that’s been saved across Google products, starting with the most recent.
- Select Filter by date and product to limit results to certain date ranges or applications.
- To remove a filter you have applied, click the button X next to it at the top of the list.
- Click on any entry in the list to see more details about it if they are available. For example, you can open YouTube videos you’ve watched or websites you’ve visited.
When it comes to data already collected and stored by Google, you can delete it in different ways.
- If you are viewing the full list of activities, click DELETE (to the right of the filter). You can clear recordings from the last hour, last day, or within a custom range. You can also click Always to delete everything.
- If you filtered the list by date or product, click Delete results: This clears everything that matches the filter.
- Whether the list is filtered or not, you can click on the X next to any entry to delete it.
It’s convenient to have this central repository of all your data available through a single web portal, but you can also find certain types of data elsewhere. You can delete your web activity from Chrome as long as you’re signed in to Google, for example, or access your YouTube viewing history through the YouTube website.
When it comes to data already collected and stored by Google, you can delete it in different ways.
- If you are viewing the full list of activities, click DELETE (to the right of the filter). You can clear recordings from the last hour, last day, or within a custom range. You can also click Always to delete everything.
- If you filtered the list by date or product, click Delete results: This clears everything that matches the filter.
- Whether the list is filtered or not, you can click on the X next to any entry to delete it.
It’s convenient to have this central repository of all your data available through a single web portal, but you can also find certain types of data elsewhere. You can delete your web activity from Chrome as long as you’re signed in to Google, for example, or access your YouTube viewing history through the YouTube website.
If you want Google to automatically delete your data or stop collecting data altogether, you should use the three categories mentioned previously: Web & Apps, Location, and YouTube.
In the list of activities, click Web and app activity, Location HistoryOr YouTube History. The next options screen you will see is very similar in all three categories:
- Click on Turn off stop collecting data in this particular category. If you select this option, you can choose either Turn off (to keep everything collected so far) or Disable and delete activity.
- If you choose to delete data, a preview of what will be deleted will be displayed before confirming the action.
- Further down the page, select Choose an automatic deletion option to have the data in this category erased after a certain time: 3 months, 18 monthsOr 36 months.
You’ll also see some sub-settings on these screens, such as searches you perform on YouTube or voice and audio activity that may be collected through your interactions with the Google Assistant.
There are obviously some tradeoffs to consider here. If you’ve visited a particular cafe on Google Maps, it’s helpful to have it appear automatically when you need to get directions to it. Likewise, if you like a few YouTube videos, you’ll probably want to see more videos along the same lines rather than something served up randomly.
The auto-delete option strikes a good balance in this regard, as it means you get a certain level of customization without all of your activities being recorded on Google’s servers at all times.
Incidentally, if you try to turn off any of these data collections (or turn them back on), Google will display an information panel explaining how the data it collects helps personalize services for you across multiple apps. In other words, Google absolutely wants you to allow it to collect this data, but ultimately it’s your choice.
If you want Google to automatically delete your data or stop collecting data altogether, you should use the three categories mentioned previously: Web & Apps, Location, and YouTube.
In the list of activities, click Web and app activity, Location HistoryOr YouTube History. The next options screen you will see is very similar in all three categories:
- Click on Turn off stop collecting data in this particular category. If you select this option, you can choose either Turn off (to keep everything collected so far) or Disable and delete activity.
- If you choose to delete data, a preview of what will be deleted will be displayed before confirming the action.
- Further down the page, select Choose an automatic deletion option to have the data in this category erased after a certain time: 3 months, 18 monthsOr 36 months.
You’ll also see some sub-settings on these screens, such as searches you perform on YouTube or voice and audio activity that may be collected through your interactions with the Google Assistant.
There are obviously some tradeoffs to consider here. If you’ve visited a particular cafe on Google Maps, it’s helpful to have it appear automatically when you need to get directions to it. Likewise, if you like a few YouTube videos, you’ll probably want to see more videos along the same lines rather than something served up randomly.
The auto-delete option strikes a good balance in this regard, as it means you get a certain level of customization without all of your activities being recorded on Google’s servers at all times.
Incidentally, if you try to turn off any of these data collections (or turn them back on), Google will display an information panel explaining how the data it collects helps personalize services for you across multiple apps. In other words, Google absolutely wants you to allow it to collect this data, but ultimately it’s your choice.
News Source : www.theverge.com
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