Urgent Google warning about exact private data search engine views as public – here’s how to stop it tracking you

GOOGLE is keeping tabs on you – but there are ways to limit their access to your information, according to technology experts.

From your online activity to your location history to your Youtube search and watch history, the tech giant has proven that there’s a lot to learn from the “public” information that internet users make available.

GettySince 2019, Google has made multiple changes to the options provided to users in controlling how location data is collected[/caption]

Since 2019, Google has made multiple changes to the options provided to users in controlling how location data is collected.

Google’s tracking services have even sparked legal action from many state attorneys general, amongst claims that the search engine has deceived users by making it “nearly impossible” for people to stop their location from being tracked.

Attorneys general from Indiana, Texas, Washington state and Washington, DC are all currently in the process of suing Google over its use of location data.

“Google falsely led consumers to believe that changing their account and device settings would allow customers to protect their privacy and control what personal data the company could access,” said Washington D.C.’s Attorney General Karl A. Racine. 

“The truth is that contrary to Google’s representations it continues to systematically surveil customers and profit from customer data.”

Thankfully, there are ways to access the data that Google hoards from its consumers, as well as strategies to delete some or all of the information.

Following a 2018 investigation by the Associated Press, Google made it slightly easier to find and delete your data – users just have to know where to look.

Turning off and deleting tracking is a multi-step process in your settings.

MANAGE YOUR PUBLIC INFORMATION

Google likely considers a lot of your “private information” like your name, your birthday, your email address, or phone numbers, to be “public.”

In order to find out what the general public can see about you online, open a browser window and get to your Google Account page.

Next, type your Google username and login.

From the menu bar, choose “Personal Info” and review the available information. Through this, you can change or delete the data tied to your account.

To see what information is publicly available, scroll to the bottom of “Personal Data” and select “Go to About me.”

Each piece of personal information is labeled with one of three symbols – a people icon, meaning visible to anyone, an office building icon, meaning visible only to your organization, and a lock icon, meaning only visible to you.

MANAGE YOUR ONLINE ACTIVITY RECORD

Tech experts recommend setting your data to autodelete every three months, in order to maintain your privacy while keeping personalized results on certain services.

First, sign in to your Google Account and click “Data & Privacy” from the menu.

To see your logged activity on the search engine, scroll to “History Settings” and select “Web & App Activity.”

Here, you can turn it completely off or choose to stop Google from tracking your Chrome browser history and Google account activity by unchecking the first box.

In order to prevent audio recordings from Google Assistant, uncheck the second box.

In order to automatically delete your collected data either never, every three months, or every 18 months, select “Auto-delete” and choose the time frame you’d like – Google will automatically delete any current data older than the time frame you pick once you confirm your choice.

Next, select “Manage Activity,” which displays all of Google’s information on you arranged by date.

Here, you can delete specific days, see more specific details, delete individual items, or delete part or all of your history manually.

TURN OFF LOCATION TRACKING

If you want to completely turn off location tracking, you’ll have to follow these steps.

Open up Google.com on your smartphone browser or desktop and log in

Select “Manage your Google Account” and go into the Privacy & Personalization box

Select “Manage your data & privacy,” scroll down to the Activity Controls, and hit “Manage your activity controls.”

In the Web & App Activity box, switch the controls off.

DELETE OLD TRACKING DATA

Along with turning off tracking, you’ll need to delete your location data from the past.

Hit “Manage your Google Account” and select “Manage your data & privacy.”

Scroll down to the Activity Controls, and hit “Manage your activity controls.”

Select “Manage History,” which will open a map and corresponding timeline that you can delete by clicking the “Trash” button and confirm by hitting “Delete.”

The Sun has reached out to Google for comment.