Privacy has been the talk of the town on the Internet with Facebook facing much of the brunt and now Google is making it easier for its users to take control of their Location History and Web & App Activity data.
Until now, users had the option to manually delete or pause tracking on their account. Now Google is testing this new auto-delete feature, which will be available to users in the coming weeks.
While the auto-delete feature is currently only being rolled out to location history and web/app activity data, you can expect them to roll out the same feature for Voice & Audio Activity, YouTube Search History, YouTube Watch History and Device Information.
” We work to keep your data private and secure, and we’ve heard your feedback that we need to provide simpler ways for you to manage or delete it,” Google stated. “You should always be able to manage your data in a way that works best for you–and we’re committed to giving you the best controls to make that happen.”
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How to auto-delete Location History and Web & App Activity data
- Open your Google account.
- Click/tap on Data & personalisation or search for activity data or location history.
- Click/tap on Choose to delete automatically below Location History and Web & App Activity data.
- On the next page choose how long you wish to keep your data before it’s deleted — 1) Keep until I delete manually; 2) Keep for 18 months; 3) Keep for 3 months. Click/tap on Confirm once you’ve made your choice.
- If you’ve chosen the second or third option, you’ll be asked if you wish to delete the data immediately or when the activity data is older than three months. Click/tap on Confirm once you’ve made your choice.
Your preferences will be saved and now Google will auto-delete all of your web and app activity and location data accumulated in your ‘My Activity’ dashboard.
Web & App Activity saves your activity history on Google sites and apps. The information includes location, which helps in searching faster, better recommendations and more personalised experience in Google services like Maps, Search and more.
Location History saves your device’s location, including where it’s been. This helps Google to personalise the experience for you in services like Maps and make recommendations based on your location and the places you’ve visited.
Also read: How to choose the information synced to Google Chrome and how to delete it
