How to review what data Google holds about you

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Secure ConfigMedium priority

About 30 minutes to complete

Visit your Google account's privacy settings, review what activity and personal data is stored, and turn off any collection you are not comfortable with. Includes location history, search history, and ad personalisation.

Step-by-step guide

Go to myaccount.google.com and sign in.
Click 'Data & Privacy' in the left menu.
Under 'History settings,' review Web & App Activity, Location History, and YouTube History. Turn off any you are not comfortable with, or set auto-delete to remove data after 3 months.
Under 'Ad settings,' click 'Ad personalisation' and turn it off if you prefer not to be tracked for advertising purposes.
Run the Privacy Checkup tool on the same page. It walks you through the key privacy settings in approximately five minutes.

5 steps

Why this matters

Google stores your search history, location history, voice searches, YouTube viewing history, and ad preferences, often going back years. This data can be used to build a detailed profile of your movements, habits, and interests. Reviewing and limiting what Google stores takes thirty minutes and is a meaningful privacy improvement.

How to confirm it worked

The setting is saved and active on your device
You have tested it works before closing the page

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