Does the idea of Google knowing your every move creep you out?
Think about it, the tech giant knows every car that you've thought of purchasing. It also knows more personal details, like what medical conditions you are ailing from, which coworkers you've tried finding information on, and where you're thinking about taking your next trip.
Google knows all of these things from your many internet searches. It's understandable if you consider this is a terrible privacy risk -- because it is.
That's why I'm going to tell you how to erase everything you have ever searched for on Google.
What is Google's My Activity tool
First, let's talk about Google's account settings tool, My Activity. Here you will see all of your search activity across multiple platforms. This is also where you can edit or delete the information that you find.
To find My Activity, head to Google's home page and log in to your account. Tap the circle in the upper corner with your initial inside and a menu will open, click My Account.
Click on the My Activity section listed as an option in the preview tiles.
From there, you'll be asked to confirm your password before any of your information will be shown.
Next, I'll show you how to erase your search history.
How to erase your Google search history
The process of erasing your Google search history is actually quite simple. Your first move is to go to Google's My Activity page. Follow the steps I gave you earlier to get there.
Then, use these steps to delete your entire search history:
- Tap Delete activity by - On the left side of your My Activity page, you will see a menu of actions. Tap Delete activity by.
This will bring up a selection box where you choose a delete date and product.
- Select All Time - Under Delete by date in the selection box, change Today to All Time. This will erase every Google search under your account from its archive. (Note: There is also an option to select a date range to delete searches from, but it's easier and more secure to delete them all.)
- Select Search - In the drop down menu, change All Products to Search. This means you'll only be deleting your search history. There are more options to choose from such as All Products, Ads, Chrome, Maps, Video Search and YouTube. If you're only looking to erase your Google search history, select Search.
- Tap Delete - A pop-up will appear, warning you that your activity can make Google services more useful to you, like better commute options in Maps and quicker results in Search.
- Click OK - Another pop-up will appear asking you to confirm that you want to delete your Search activity from all time and warns you these items will be permanently deleted from your Google Account.
- Tap Delete.
That's it, you've successfully erased your Google search history. You should follow this procedure every few months so future searches are not archived like the ones that you just deleted. It's that simple.
Games and tricks hidden within your Google search bar
You use Google search every day. You use it to get driving directions and recipes. You use it to buy movie tickets, to hear the hours for Sunday mass and so much more. Everyone uses Google search, but only a select few know these insider secrets. Tap or click here to find out how to use these hidden tricks.
