Here is how to manage or delete your activity on Google
Here is how to manage or delete your activity on Google. Everything you do while signed into Google, and even some stuff when you aren’t, becomes a part of your Google profile.
Google collects a ton of information about you — maybe even more than you realize. Google remembers every search you perform and every YouTube video you watch. Whether you have an iPhone ($699 at Amazon) or Android phone, Google Maps logs everywhere you go, the route you take to get there, when you arrive and what time you leave — even if you never open the app. When you really take a look at everything Google knows about you, the results are staggering — maybe even a little frightening. Thankfully, there’s now something you can do about it.
As a spate of data leaks and privacy violations continues to weaken the public’s trust in big tech companies, Google has responded by creating a privacy hub that lets you access, delete and limit the data Google collects on you. Navigating all the various settings can get confusing, however, and it’s not always clear what you’re giving Google permission to do. What’s worse, whenever you make a change that would restrict how much or for how long Google tracks you, Google warns that its services won’t work as well without unfettered access to your data. How true that may be isn’t very clear.
Despite Google’s best efforts to increase transparency, recent revelations that the search giant was secretly sharing users’ private data with third-party advertisers have challenged the public’s trust in the company, whose Google Home ($99 at Walmart) and Google Nest lines of smart speakers seek to put microphones and cameras in the most private of settings — your home.
We’re going to cut through all the clutter and show you how to access the private data Google has on you, as well as how to delete some or all of it. Then we’re going to help you find the right balance between your privacy and the Google services you rely on by choosing settings that limit Google’s access to your information without impairing your experience.
Find out what private information Google considers ‘public’
Chances are, Google has your name, a photo of your face, your birthday, gender, other email addresses you use, your password and phone number. Some of this is listed as public information (not your password, of course). Here’s how to see what Google shares with the world about you.
1. Open a browser window and navigate to your your Google Account page.
2. Type your Google username (with or without “@gmail.com”).
3. From the menu bar, choose Personal info and review the information. You can change or delete your photo, name, birthday, gender, password, other emails and phone number.
4. If you’d like to see what information of yours is available publicly, scroll to the bottom and select Go to About me.
5. You can then back out and make changes. There’s currently no way to make your account private.
