Google Privacy Issues: Web History
Feb. 28th, 2012 06:35 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
ladyofleithianOriginally posted by ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
sheryden at Google Privacy Issues: Web History
sheryden at Google Privacy Issues: Web HistoryOriginally posted by anjak_j at Google Privacy Issues: Web History
anjak_j at Google Privacy Issues: Web HistoryIf you are going to do this, you need to do it before March 1st. It has been said that users will not be able to do anything about this after that date.
With reference to Google's policy changes and how everything you do with your Google account will be tied together into their super-cauldron of information, you will probably want to clear your Google Web History out - if you turned that feature on - before month's end. After that, you won't be able to clear it, and everything you search for will be connected with your account.
To check settings and/or clear out your Web History:
1. Go to Google. If you aren't signed in already, do so.
2. In the top right-hand corner you'll find your email address or name, perhaps an icon if you have a Plus account, and a little downward facing arrow. Click on the arrow and a menu will pop up.
3. Click to 'Account Settings'. This will take you to a page called 'Accounts'. (If you have a Plus account, you might go via a Plus sign-in page.)
4. Scroll down to a section called 'Services'. Here you'll find an option called 'View, enable, or disable web history', which has a link next to it. Click on the link.
5. If you never turned web history on, you'll get a page asking if you want to turn this service on. Just click 'No Thanks' and all is good. If you did turn it on, you should have a list of your searches. At the top there is a button that says 'Remove All History'. Click this and follow the instructions which will remove all items from your Web History and pause the feature so nothing else will be added in future.
Also, you can completely remove Web History as a service from your account by clicking THIS LINK, checking the tick-box and confirming you want to remove Web History. To be safe, it is probably best to do the steps above first to remove any history that might have already been collected.
With reference to Google's policy changes and how everything you do with your Google account will be tied together into their super-cauldron of information, you will probably want to clear your Google Web History out - if you turned that feature on - before month's end. After that, you won't be able to clear it, and everything you search for will be connected with your account.
To check settings and/or clear out your Web History:
1. Go to Google. If you aren't signed in already, do so.
2. In the top right-hand corner you'll find your email address or name, perhaps an icon if you have a Plus account, and a little downward facing arrow. Click on the arrow and a menu will pop up.
3. Click to 'Account Settings'. This will take you to a page called 'Accounts'. (If you have a Plus account, you might go via a Plus sign-in page.)
4. Scroll down to a section called 'Services'. Here you'll find an option called 'View, enable, or disable web history', which has a link next to it. Click on the link.
5. If you never turned web history on, you'll get a page asking if you want to turn this service on. Just click 'No Thanks' and all is good. If you did turn it on, you should have a list of your searches. At the top there is a button that says 'Remove All History'. Click this and follow the instructions which will remove all items from your Web History and pause the feature so nothing else will be added in future.
Also, you can completely remove Web History as a service from your account by clicking THIS LINK, checking the tick-box and confirming you want to remove Web History. To be safe, it is probably best to do the steps above first to remove any history that might have already been collected.
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no subject
Date: 2012-02-28 12:26 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-02-28 09:21 pm (UTC)And no problem. :)
no subject
Date: 2012-02-28 01:44 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-02-28 03:34 pm (UTC)I feel the need to point out that this isn't really true. Everything you search for while logged into your account will be connected with your account. If you don't want your activities connected with your account, then just log out of your account.
(To be fair, yes, Google also tracks activity from your IP address when you're not logged into an account. However, that's always been the case, and it's very common for other websites to do the same thing. That information won't be attached to you specifically, though, and you can avoid websites tracking your IP address by using a proxy server.)