Even if you regularly delete your browsing history, there is more than needs to be done in order to get rid of your Google history. By removing previous traces of activity on your Google account, you will be able to protect your privacy in a more effective way. All your searches are kept by Google’s web and app history and the information can be stored for years. It is possible to backup your search history as Google allows you to download all your previous searches, which may be handy for work and school. However, unless you need to save your past searches for a project (or you just prefer to keep them for future reference and personal reasons), it is worth knowing how to manage and delete your Google search history.
How to manage your Google activity
Viewing and managing the activity on your Google account is simple. Just sign into your Google account, go to My Activity in privacy settings. You will see all the information related to your online activity (including websites visited and videos watched) and you will be able to manage it from here. Whenever you search something on Google or access Google services such as YouTube and Chrome, your activities are saved in your account. Google uses this information to adapt to your personal interests and preferences and improve your experience. All the activities appear on My Activity page and they are organized in chronological order. In general, they are shown individually although in some cases they are grouped. You have the chance to select which activities should be monitored using Activity Controls. Keep in mind that your activities are only saved when you are logged into your Google account.
Deleting your Google account history
In order to delete your Google account history for good, the first thing you need to do is to delete your activity and adjust the Activity controls to prevent Google from keeping records of your future activities when you use the service. You can delete each item individually, delete activity via search and features, delete it by day or time or delete related activity. The easiest way to do it is to delete everything in your activity, but if there are only certain things that you want to remove, you can use the options to delete specific items.
To delete individual items, you can go to the My Activity page, look for the item and click More, then Delete. A message will appear asking you to confirm that you want to delete the item. You can also delete via Search and Filters on the My Activity page. Just click on “Filter by date and product” to access searching by terms or a particular date range. You will need to select which Google products should be searched and then, you can click on the items to delete each of them. Otherwise, you can delete them all by clicking “Delete results” and then confirm that you want to go ahead with the deletion.
To delete related activities (those that are organized in groups), sign into the My Activity page to locate the bundle by searching for More – Bundle view. You can also look for bundles by day. There are also search and filter options that will allow you to easily locate the bundles you want to delete. Then you can click More, Delete and confirm that you want to delete the bundle. If you want to delete all your Google activity, you can click on “Delete activity by” and then select “All time”. Then click Delete and confirm your selection. It is also possible to delete other Google activity including device information and location history. Simply go to Other Google activity in the left side of the My Activity page. You will see a list of the options that can be deleted and you can also download your search history from there.
Delete Google history from an Android phone
Many people use their mobile phones more than their computers and Android is a very popular platform trusted by millions. In order to remove Google searches from your Android device, you can get an app called History Eraser – Privacy Clean, which is available for free in Google Play. This app by Infolife will help you to delete app histories with just one swipe. Rooting or admin permission are not required, and the app is very easy to use. In just a matter of seconds, you will free up storage space on your phone and enhance your privacy. Your call logs, text messages, browser history, Google searches, Gmail search history, YouTube search history, download history and more will be cleared. A pro version with no ads is also available and it costs $1.99.
Conclusion
Your Google account history can optimize your experience by tailoring the services that you use every day to suit your needs and preferences. However, if you want to get a higher level of privacy, deleting your Google searches, Google web and everything else, may be the bets choice. Keeping your Google account history can help you to find your favorite websites easily and to get a personalized Google experience.Without your history, the search results will be more general and the websites that you visit more often will no longer be listed at the top of your search results. It should also be noted that even if you delete or disable your history, Google can still keep track of your activities. Still, it is worth considering if you want to have greater control over your privacy.
