Think about everything you do across Chrome, Gmail, Google Maps, YouTube, and everything else Google owns, and you get some idea of how much data you\u2019re giving up to the company each day. For most of us, it\u2019s… a lot.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
Whether or not you think the data collection and targeted advertising is a worthwhile trade for the free apps you get in return, Google does at least provide a comprehensive online dashboard you can use to see some of what\u2019s being gathered.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
You can use it to delete everything Google has already collected, stop it from collecting anything in the future, or automatically delete your data after a set period (like three months). You can also use these features to clear the records if you\u2019re planning to delete your Google account \u2014 though the process of deleting it should also wipe all of the data associated with your account.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
Here\u2019s how to use the options available to you.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
Find your data<\/h3>\n<\/p>\n\n\nActivity can be filtered by date and app. <\/em><\/figcaption><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\nGetting started is pretty easy: Open your Google account page<\/a> in a web browser of your choice, signing in if you need to. From this screen, you can see your Google subscriptions, the devices you\u2019re signed in to with your Google account, and the passwords you might have saved, among other information.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\nRight now, we\u2019re interested in data.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
\n\n- Click Data and privacy<\/strong> on the left.\u00a0<\/li>\n
- Look for History settings<\/strong>. It is split up into three main categories: Web and apps, location, and YouTube.<\/li>\n
- Click the My Activity<\/strong> button at the bottom of that section to see a complete list of this data. You\u2019ll see everything you\u2019ve done that\u2019s been logged in Google products, starting with what\u2019s most recent.<\/li>\n
- Select Filter by date & product<\/strong> to limit the results to certain date ranges or certain apps.<\/li>\n
- To remove a filter you\u2019ve applied, click the X<\/strong> next to it at the top of the list.<\/li>\n
- Click on any entry in the list to see more details about it if they\u2019re available. You can open YouTube videos you\u2019ve watched, for example, or websites you\u2019ve visited.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n
Delete your data<\/h3>\n<\/p>\n\n\nYou can manually purge your data at any time. <\/em><\/figcaption><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\nWhen it comes to data that\u2019s already been collected and logged by Google, you can erase it in a few different ways.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
\n\n- If you\u2019re looking at the full activity list, click Delete <\/strong>(to the right of the filter). You can wipe records from the last hour, the last day, or within a custom range. You can also click Always<\/strong> to delete everything.<\/li>\n
- If you\u2019ve filtered the list by date or product, click Delete results<\/strong>: this wipes everything that matches the filter.<\/li>\n
- Whether or not the list is filtered, you can click the X<\/strong> next to any single entry to delete it.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n\n
It\u2019s handy to have this central repository of all your data available via one web portal, but you can find some types of data in other places, too. You can delete your web activity from inside Chrome<\/a> as long as you\u2019re signed in to Google, for example, or get at your YouTube watch history<\/a> through the YouTube website.<\/p>\n<\/div>\nAuto-delete and turn off data collection<\/h3>\n<\/p>\n\n\nGoogle will automatically wipe data after a certain time, if you want. <\/em><\/figcaption><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\nIf you want Google to auto-delete your data or stop collecting data altogether, you need to use the three categories we mentioned earlier: Web and apps, location, and YouTube.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
\nFrom the activity list, click Web & App Activity<\/strong>, Location History<\/strong>, or YouTube History<\/strong>. The next options screen you\u2019ll see is very similar across all three categories:<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n- Click Turn off<\/strong> to stop collecting data in this particular category. If you select this option, you can choose to either Turn off<\/strong> (to keep anything collected thus far) or Turn off and delete activity<\/strong>.\u00a0<\/li>\n
- If you choose to delete data, you\u2019ll be shown a preview of what\u2019s getting erased before you confirm the action.<\/li>\n
- Further down the page, select Choose an auto-delete option<\/strong> to have the data in this category wiped after a certain time: 3 months<\/strong>, 18 months<\/strong>, or 36 months<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n\n
You\u2019ll also see some sub-settings on these screens, too, such as searches you run on YouTube or voice and audio activity that might be collected through your interactions with Google Assistant.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
\nThere are obviously some compromises to think about here. If you\u2019ve been checking out a particular coffee shop on Google Maps, it is helpful to have it pop up automatically when you need to get directions to it. In the same way, if you like a couple of YouTube videos, then you probably want to see more videos along the same lines rather than something served up randomly.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
\nThe auto-delete option offers a good balance in this regard because it means you do get some level of personalization without having all of your activities saved on Google\u2019s servers for all time.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
\nIncidentally, if you try to turn off any of this data collection (or turn it back on), Google will throw up an information panel explaining how the data it gathers helps to personalize services for you across multiple apps. In other words, Google definitely wants you to allow it to collect this data, but in the end, it\u2019s your choice.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
Getting started is pretty easy: Open your Google account page<\/a> in a web browser of your choice, signing in if you need to. From this screen, you can see your Google subscriptions, the devices you\u2019re signed in to with your Google account, and the passwords you might have saved, among other information.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Right now, we\u2019re interested in data.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n When it comes to data that\u2019s already been collected and logged by Google, you can erase it in a few different ways.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n It\u2019s handy to have this central repository of all your data available via one web portal, but you can find some types of data in other places, too. You can delete your web activity from inside Chrome<\/a> as long as you\u2019re signed in to Google, for example, or get at your YouTube watch history<\/a> through the YouTube website.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n If you want Google to auto-delete your data or stop collecting data altogether, you need to use the three categories we mentioned earlier: Web and apps, location, and YouTube.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n From the activity list, click Web & App Activity<\/strong>, Location History<\/strong>, or YouTube History<\/strong>. The next options screen you\u2019ll see is very similar across all three categories:<\/p>\n<\/div>\n You\u2019ll also see some sub-settings on these screens, too, such as searches you run on YouTube or voice and audio activity that might be collected through your interactions with Google Assistant.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n There are obviously some compromises to think about here. If you\u2019ve been checking out a particular coffee shop on Google Maps, it is helpful to have it pop up automatically when you need to get directions to it. In the same way, if you like a couple of YouTube videos, then you probably want to see more videos along the same lines rather than something served up randomly.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n The auto-delete option offers a good balance in this regard because it means you do get some level of personalization without having all of your activities saved on Google\u2019s servers for all time.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Incidentally, if you try to turn off any of this data collection (or turn it back on), Google will throw up an information panel explaining how the data it gathers helps to personalize services for you across multiple apps. In other words, Google definitely wants you to allow it to collect this data, but in the end, it\u2019s your choice.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n
Delete your data<\/h3>\n<\/p>\n
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Auto-delete and turn off data collection<\/h3>\n<\/p>\n
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