Permanently stop Google tracking by changing these settings

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Where are you going, Google knows. Here’s how to stop him from always knowing where you are.

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If you’re using a Google app, chances are you’re being tracked. Even if you’ve turned off location history on your Google account, you’re still not completely okay. While disabling this setting seems like a complete solution, some Google apps are still storing data about your location. Just open the Google Maps app or use Google search on any platform to record your approximate location with a timestamp.

Following a 2018 investigation by the Associated Press, however, Google has made it easier to control what location and other data is saved and what is deleted with features like Your Data in Maps and Search, which give you a quick access to your location controls. You just have to know where to look.

Disabling location history only removes the location you’ve been to from the Google Maps Timeline feature, which records your location with certain data at a specific time. Google’s support page on the subject states that even if turned off, “some location data may continue to be saved in other settings”, such as your web and app activity. Google has told us that it uses this data to make features more personalized and useful and that this information is never shared with third parties or advertisers. But if you still don’t feel comfortable, with a few extra steps you can generally prevent Google from knowing where you are 24/7.

Note that turning off this default has some drawbacks. While Google’s settings may seem intrusive to some, they also help cultivate an ultra-personalized online experience, such as helping people find businesses nearby rather than in another city or display personalized ads. According to Google, they help provide users with more relevant information instead of random information.

Keep up to date with the latest news, procedures and reviews on Google devices, apps and software.

Here’s how to really turn off Google tracking and what the results could be.

Turn off Google location tracking

To completely disable Google’s ability to log your location, here’s what to do:

1. Open Google.com on your desktop or mobile browser and log into your Google account using the button in the top right corner.

2. Click the user’s icon in the upper right corner and select Manage your Google account.

3. Click Privacy and Personalization.

4. Click on Things you’ve done and places you’ve been.

5. Click Location History in the History Settings box. This opens up the activity controls.

6. Under Location History, click the button to the right that says Turn Off. This opens a pop-up window.

7. Scroll to the bottom of this window and click Pause.

Block Google from storing your locations from Maps.

Angela Lang / CNET What Stops Google From Remembering?

Suspending this setting prevents Google from storing location markers associated with specific actions and stops storing information gathered from searches or other activities. Deactivation keeps your approximate location private and other places you go, such as your home address.

Note that to use certain features effectively, like the Maps app, Google will still need to access your location. However, completing the above steps prevents you from memorizing your future activities. When Google records your activity within a general area, it is spanning over 1 square mile with typically more than 1,000 users to protect personal privacy. Google’s help page on the subject claims that this helps them detect unusual activity, such as logging in from another city, while maintaining personal privacy.

However, you can give Google permission to use your precise location – your exact location, such as a specific address – for the best and most specific search results for where you are.

Pros and cons of turning off Google tracking

Disabling tracking means you’ll see less relevant ads, less useful search recommendations, and overall get a less personalized experience using the search engine and its apps and services. For those who love personalized ads, disabling tracking will prevent Google from predicting what might interest you. However, for those who prioritize privacy over everything, disabling this setting could be worth the loss of specificity.

Bottom line: You can either maintain your privacy and miss out on the personalized internet experience, or continue to see relevant ads and search suggestions instead of more random, unfiltered information.

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Delete old location history

Disabling tracking will prevent Google from storing new location information, but will not delete previously collected data. Here’s how to delete that information:

1. Open Google.com on your desktop or mobile browser and log into your Google account using the button in the top right corner.

2. After logging in, click the user icon in the upper right corner and select Manage your Google account.

3. Click Privacy and Personalization.

4. Click on Things you’ve done and places you’ve been.

5. Click Location History in the History Settings box. This opens up the activity controls.

6. Click Manage History at the bottom of the page. A map opens with a timeline in the upper left corner. The map shows where you have been and the timeline shows where you were at what time.

7. To delete your position for a specific date, click on the date in the timeline. That date will then be displayed below the timeline. Click the trash can icon to the right of the date. In the pop-up window, click Delete day.

8. To delete all location history at once, click the trash can icon near the lower right corner of the map. In the pop-up window, click on the box that says I understand and I want to delete all Location History. Click Delete Location History.

Stop Google from collecting your web and app activity

When you create a new Google account, Google minimizes the amount of data it collects by keeping only 18 months of web and app activity by default – anything older than that is automatically deleted. Here’s how to stop Google from collecting your future web and app activity:

1. Open Google.com on your desktop or mobile browser and log into your Google account using the button in the top right corner.

2. After logging in, click the user icon in the upper right corner and select Manage your Google account.

3. Click Privacy and Personalization.

4. Click on Things you’ve done and places you’ve been.

5. Click Web & App Activity in the history settings box. This opens up the activity controls.

6. Click Disable under Web & App Activity.

7. In the pop-up window, click Pause.

8. Click OK.

Eliminate all your Google web and app activity

If you have prevented Google from collecting your web and app activity, Google still retains your previous data. Here’s how to delete your previous web and app activity:

1. Open Google.com on your desktop or mobile browser and log into your Google account using the button in the top right corner.

2. After logging in, click the user icon in the upper right corner and select Manage your Google account.

3. Click Privacy and Personalization.

4. Click on Things you’ve done and places you’ve been.

5. Click Web & App Activity in the history settings box. This opens up the activity controls.

6. Click Manage All Web & App Activity at the bottom of the screen.

7. Under Search for your business, click Delete on the right.

8. The new window will show the options to delete your Web & App Activity from Last Hour, Last Day, All Time or from a custom interval. Select All the time.

9. A new window will open asking you to choose which services to delete the activity from. Select All is automatically selected, but you can scroll and choose which apps or services to delete information from. Click Next when you are happy with your selection.

10. A pop-up window opens saying Confirm that you want to delete the following task at the top. Click Delete at the bottom.

11. Click OK.

For more information, check out how to see if Google is tracking you, how much data Google collects, and how to hide where you are going from Maps. You can also automatically delete your Google history.

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