The Internet has shrunk the world and made it much more accessible, but it has also led to many valid privacy concerns. It is creepy if someone knows where you are or what you are looking for without telling them. Believe it or not, Google knows all that about you. In fact, Google knows more than you think; if you use Google Maps or other Google apps, it stores a copy everywhere you go.
Google, for example, tracks your search history, as well as the position of your mobile device, the adverts you view, the videos you watch, and other information. If you prefer, you can set Google to cease tracking you (at least for the most part), but you’ll lose access to all of Google’s personalization tools.
Find out more about how Google tracks you and how to prevent it.
How Does Google Track Your Device?
Google uses personal data from Google Analytics, Global Site Tag, and their many other trackers and products, so they can target you with advertising and content they think you’ll want to see.
Most mobile phones are equipped with GPS, which uses signals from satellites to determine a device’s location – however, with Google Location Services, additional information from nearby Wi-Fi, mobile networks, and device sensors can be collected to determine your device’s location
Take a look at this while you read to learn more:
Does Google Track Your Search History Too?
When you enable Web & App Activity, Google saves information such as searches and other activities on Google goods and services such as Maps and Play.
Your location, language, IP address, referrer, and whether you use a browser or an app are all factors to consider. Ads you click on or purchases you make on an advertiser’s website.
If you utilize Google products, they will attempt to track you even more. Google logs everything you’ve ever looked for on Google (for example, “strange rash”), as well as every video you’ve ever watched on YouTube. Many individuals are unaware that Google owns YouTube.
How To Prevent/Limit Google Tracking You
There is a lot of data about you that google uses. Fortunately, you can stop or limit this tracking.
- Turn Off Google’s Location Tracking
When you disable this setting, Google stops keeping location markers connected with certain actions and information gathered from searches or other activities. Turning it off protects your approximate location as well as other areas you visit, such as your home address.
It should be noted that in order to use certain features successfully, such as the Maps app, Google will still need to access your position. Completing the steps above, however, prohibits it from storing any future behavior.
Here’s how to stop Google’s ability to log your location.
- Open Google.com on your desktop or mobile browser, and log into your Google account by using the button in the top right corner.
- Select your user icon in the top right corner and select Manage your Google account.
- Select Privacy & Personalization.
- Under Things you’ve done and places you’ve been, select Location history inside the History settings box. This opens Activity Controls.
- Beneath Location History, select the button on the right that reads Turn off. This opens a pop-up window.
- Scroll to the bottom of this window and select Pause.
- Delete Old Location History
Disabling tracking prevents Google from storing new location information, but it does not remove any already collected data. Here’s how to get rid of that data.
Follow these steps to delete old location history:
1. Open Google.com on your desktop or mobile browser, and log into your Google account by using the button in the top right corner.
2. After logging in, select your user icon in the top right corner and select Manage your Google account.
3. Select Privacy & Personalization.
4. Under Things you’ve done and places you’ve been, select Location history inside the History settings box. This opens Activity Controls.
5. Select Manage history near the bottom of the page. This opens a map with a timeline in the top left corner. The map shows where you’ve been, and the timeline shows where you were at what time.
6. In the timeline, select the day you want to remove your location. That date will then be shown beneath the timeline. To the right of the date, click the trashcan icon. Choose Delete day from the pop-up menu.
7. To remove all of your location histories at once, click the trash can icon in the bottom right corner of the map, next to the Map and Satellite display options.
8. In the pop-up window, check the box labelled “I understand and agree to delete all Location History.” Select the Delete location history option.
- Manage Web And App Activity
The Activity Controls page in your Google Account on the web is the best place to start controlling Google’s monitoring practices. If you’re already signed in to Google on your browser, that link should take you directly there.
Google’s information on you is divided into six categories. You can disable tracking on any of them by using the toggle buttons on the screen.
The first two sections, Web & App Activity and Location History, are the most important. First, Web & App Activity, which is everything you do on the web when signed into Chrome, everything you search for while signed into Google, and everything you do inside Google’s apps.
Here’s how you can prevent Google from tracking your future web and app activities.
1. Navigate to Google.com on your desktop or mobile browser and sign in to your Google account using the button in the upper right corner.
2. After logging in, click the user symbol in the upper right corner and then choose to Manage your Google account.
3. Choose Privacy and customization.
4. In the History settings box, select Web & App Activity under Things you’ve done and locations you’ve been to. This brings up Activity Controls.
6. Click Turn off next to Web & App Activity.
7. At the bottom of the pop-up box, click Pause.
8. Click on Got it.
Conclusion
Google tracks your location as well as your web activity. It is used for customization or sold to advertisers. However, you can prevent Google from tracking you by going to Google settings and managing your web settings. This may make your search less personalized, but it will limit the tracking.
