Google’s “My Activity” dashboard is broken down in detail

Google has access to your data. Google is aware that you can block information mining using a few simple steps.

Google’s new “My Activity” dashboard gives you central control of what information Google tracks and stores. For quick help, see the table of contents:

1.  See your account history
2.  Manage your device history and location
3.  Manage account-specific activity (youtube location and voice, audio, voice and audio, and voice).
4.  How to Manage Google+ and Google Ad Settings
5.  What can you do to delete your entire Google Account?

You can access all of the options discussed in this post through Google’s “My Activity” dashboard, located at myactivity.google.com

Navigation and layout

Log in to Google’s “My Activity” section to see a complete listing of all your web activity.

This list includes all the websites that you’ve visited, as well as every search term and YouTube video you’ve viewed. It can be viewed in one of two formats. Both can be accessed via the menu in the upper left corner.

Bundle View is the default layout. It provides a “big picture” overview of all your online activities. 

If you do not want to see any categories, you can switch to Item View. This is a list of all your online actions, with the most recent at the top.

Layout view you can drill down to your search history using the Search feature at the top. The link will open a search interface. You can sort your history by date, time, and “Google product”. These are the same categories Bundle View uses to organize your history.

“Delete activity by”

The “Delete activity from” function is located next to your menu. To open a simple interface, click it. This will allow you to delete all your history items within a certain period.

Google explains that you can search for keywords within Google products and delete only those results. Each must be removed from the Activity controls page.

It won’t delete your search history or website visitors.

“Other Google Activities”

Next, you will find the “Other Google Activity” category. It will take you to a page detailing exactly the information Google tracks.

History of

Google can track your location using location services-enabled Android phones. They can also be enabled by default so that users don’t have to think about them.

It’s almost 100% accurate.

There is no need to be afraid right now. You can take steps to hide your movements from Google.

1. Google Location Services should not be enabled on Android devices. This is the easiest method to stop Google from tracking you. It is not an easy task. If Android’s Location Services are not activated, any app that relies on location services (e.g. Google Maps) will become inoperable. It won’t work.
2. Stop the “Location History” service. After viewing your location history under My Activity, you can stop the “Location History” service.
3. Google lets you export or delete your entire location history. To delete all of your Location History, click Trash.

If you’re unable to accept losing your Location Services functionality, you can delete your history. Google may also warn you if your history is being deleted.

Do not let this discourage you, it will never be the same.

Information about device

This applies only to Android users who use Google App Suite. This includes updates to apps, contacts, and everything else.

Google Play Sound Search History

The history tab of “Google Play Sound Search”, lists all songs that you’ve identified using the widget. 

If I did, the card with “No items to show” would include a list listing all search terms I used since my last search history was deleted. Google claims only you have access to this data. It is important to delete it to protect your privacy.

Feedback from YouTube “Not interested”

Google saves your preferences when you mark YouTube video recommendations as “Not interested”. When you mark a YouTube video recommendation as “Not interested”, Google saves your preference.

Download your past searches

This page provides the last option. It allows you to create an archive of all your search history. The file size can be downloaded depending on how far back you go. Google saves the archive to your Google Drive “Takeout” folder. You will then receive an email. The archive can be downloaded from your Drive page.

“Activity control” (AKA how to stop Google from gathering information about you)

You are likely reading this post because it contains the “Activity Controls menu.” If you want to delete your data and tell Google to stop collecting and tracking your data, this is the place.

Scroll down to view a card for each type of information Google tracks: Location History, Web Activity, and Device Information. Voice and Audio Activities are also available. YouTube Search History and YouTube Watch History can also be found on each card. The button allows you to pause data collection for this type of information indefinitely

This switch will open a Google blurb explaining why all data collection is essential to provide you with the most relevant information.

If you aren’t sure, you can turn off information mining. Each card will have a link to “MANAGE ACUITY” that will take you to the settings page for that service.

We’ve already discussed the settings page for Web & Application Activity and Location History. Clicking on one of the activity categories will take you to the pages we have already covered. We’ll also discuss the three additional activity categories.

Voice & Audio Activity

Google’s Voice and Audio Activity records any audio or speech inputs that you send to Google. Next, click the three dots to open your options menu.

You can return to the main screen by selecting the “Delete activity” option. You can choose to delete all data at once.

Clicking on “Select” will only allow you to delete entries from the Voice & Audio Log. The screen will look like the one below. Click on the Trash Can icon to select entries and remove them.

YouTube Search History

To view your full YouTube search history, click on “MANAGE ACTIVITY” and then click on “Delete Activity by”. This will remove large amounts of data. You can also choose to delete individual entries.

Youtube History

This is the same as your YouTube Search History, but only shows you the videos that you have watched.

Click the three dots to access your watch history. You can select “Delete activity by” to delete specific videos or “Select”, for all other videos.

Similar settings

A section called “Related settings” will be found at the bottom Activity controls page.

Let’s take a look at this list to see what settings you have.

Google+

This will take you to the settings page of Google+. You have many options to control who can see your photos and what Google can access them.

Scroll to the bottom to remove your Google+ account, if you so desire.

After clicking “Delete your Google+ Account Here”, you’ll be taken to the next page

Here’s the scoop on what to do if your account is “destroyed”.

Click on the “Google+” section to expand it. Google will inform you about what Google does with the information.

To find out more about how Google+ pages will affect you and how to delete them, click on the sections “Google+ Pages” and “Your public Google+ Profile Will Be Deleted”.

Permanent deletion of your Google+ account is possible. You will need a new Google+ account.

Google provides a support article that explains how to delete your G+ Account. We also cover.

Sharing endorsements

Return to the “Related Settings” menu, and click on “Shared Information”. This will take you to a page explaining what Shared Endorsements are and giving you the option to turn them on or off.

Shared endorsements can be used to recommend friends to search for the same business. 

Search settings

The “Related Settings” list’s third item is “Search settings.” These settings are relevant to the way Google displays search results.

These options are very obvious. You can select how many results you want to see on each page, and whether SafeSearch is turned on.

Advertisement

Another interesting category is “Ads”. It’s possible to turn off ads that are not related to your recent searches or interests by visiting the “Ads” page. 

Google will not show you ads based on your search behavior if you switch that switch to “off”.

Even though you have turned this off, you will still see ads. These ads might not be targeted at high-volume businesses like OKCupid and Zoosk.

You can turn off ad personalization if you want it turned off. Scroll down for what Google thinks about you as a user.

Notification – Google will display your information if you have an account on Google+. Based on your search history and online behavior, they will determine your gender, age range, and interests.

My case is slightly different because the age range is off by several decades, but the rest of the page is accurate. If you’ve ever wondered what goes on behind the scenes, this is valuable information.

Deleting your entire Google Account

This is not covered in the My Activity dashboard. However, it is something you should think about if you are worried about your data. Google does have a support page.

To do this, first, navigate to myaccount.google.com. This page will appear. It has links to almost all the information I’ve already mentioned in this article.

This page will be displayed if you click the link. You can choose to delete products or accounts “.

You can click on “Delete products” to go to a page that lists all the Google services you use. These can be deleted individually.

A copy of your data can be downloaded as a security measure for later use.

You can return to the “Delete your account/services” menu and click the second link “Delete Google account & Data”. This will take you to a page that lists every Google account and data collection. You will be redirected to the page if you click on this link.

Google links to this page, with the title “Please Read This Carefully.” This isn’t your average yada yada. They are correct. If you don’t know what to do next, it can lead to serious problems.

You may use your Gmail account as a backup service or to log in to another service. If this is the case, you should download a complete copy of your data before you delete it. 

Scroll to the bottom to confirm you are ready to delete your Google accounts.

What can Google learn about you?

The bottom line is that your information is being collected if Chrome, Gmail, and other Google-related products are used. 

Google quickly becomes the primary provider of online functionality in as many verticals as it can. It will become increasingly difficult to avoid the Big G. They love it when all your activities are contained within their ecosystem. 

Only when we use their services, do they have access to our personal information? This guide will show you how to erase your Google footprint and disable data collection. 

Have any other tips or tricks to help you track and manage your data? Leave a comment below!