Google Tracking – Right or Wrong? Here Are The Pros and Cons Of Disabling Google Tracker

Google has infiltrated nearly every part of our lives, and its network of interconnected apps and services collect, share, and rely on a vast amount of personal data of individuals. Google, for example, keeps track of your search history, as well as the position of your mobile device, the adverts you see, the videos you watch, and more.

However, turning off tracking results leads to fewer relevant ads, fewer helpful search recommendations, and a less personalised experience when using the search engine and its apps and services. Turning off tracking will also prevent Google from predicting what you might be interested in if you enjoy personalised ads.

This may be worth the loss of specificity for those who value privacy above all else.

The bottom line is that you can keep your privacy while losing the personalised internet experience, or you can continue to see relevant ads and search suggestions instead of more random, unfiltered data.

Delete previous location history

Disabling tracking prevents Google from storing new location information, but it does not delete any previously collected data. Here’s how to get rid of that data:

1. Navigate to Google.com on your desktop or mobile browser and sign in to your Google account using the button in the top right corner.

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

3. Select Privacy & personalization from the drop-down menu.

4. Select What you’ve done and where you’ve been.

5. In the History settings box, click Location history. This brings up Activity Controls.

6. At the bottom of the page, click Manage history. This displays a map with a timeline in the upper left corner. The map shows where you’ve been, while the timeline shows where you were at what point in time.

7. Click the date in the timeline to delete your location for that date. That date will then be shown beneath the timeline. To the right of the date, click the trash icon. Click Delete day in the pop-up window.

8. To delete all of your location histories at once, click the trash icon in the map’s bottom right corner. Click the box that says I understand and want to delete all Location History in the pop-up window. Click the Delete location history button.

Stop Google from collecting information about your web and app usage

When you create a new Google account, Google limits the amount of data it collects by default by keeping only 18 months’ worth of web and app activity; anything older than that is automatically deleted. Here’s how you can prevent Google from tracking your future web and app activity:

1. Navigate to Google.com on your desktop or mobile browser and sign in to your Google account using the button in the top right corner.

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

3. Select Privacy & personalization from the drop-down menu.

4. Select What you’ve done and where you’ve been.

5. In the History settings box, click Web & App Activity. This brings up Activity Controls.

6. Select Turn off from the Web & App Activity menu.

7. In the pop-up window, press the Pause button.

8. Select Got it.

Delete your entire Google web and app activity

Even if you have stopped Google from collecting your web and app activity, Google still has your previous data. Here’s how to get rid of your old web and app activity:

1. Navigate to Google.com on your desktop or mobile browser and sign in to your Google account using the button in the top right corner.

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

3. Select Privacy & personalization from the drop-down menu.

4. Select What you’ve done and where you’ve been.

5. In the History settings box, click Web & App Activity. This brings up Activity Controls.

6. At the bottom of the screen, click Manage All Web & App Activity.

7. On the right, click Delete under Search your activity.

8. The new window will provide you with the option to delete your Web & App Activity from the previous hour, day, all time, or a custom range. Choose All Time.

9. A new window will open, prompting you to select which services you want to delete the activity from. Selecting all is the default option, but you can go through and select which apps or services to delete data from. When you’re satisfied with your selection, click Next.

10. A pop-up window appears with the text Confirm that you want to delete the following activity near the top of the list. Near the bottom, click the Delete button.

11. Click I’ve Got It.