How to delete google data that it keeps about you

Deleting data from Google now turns out to be a fairly simple task and is that Google has recently launched a new panel in which all the data it collects about you is presented in a comfortable interface. You want to know more? Do not miss our tutorial!

How to delete Google data that it keeps about you

The advantage for you is that it offers much more control and transparency about what Google has collected, such as search history, location, Google services (Gmail, YouTube, Drive, etc.), and a lot of other details. There is always the possibility that it may leak a little, although you always have to measure the potential of the benefits that said data collection brings in the personalization form against the cost of the loss of privacy.

To start, log in with your account in the Google Control Panel and go to " My account ". Even if you are already signed in to Chrome or your Android device, you will need to re-enter your password and do two-step authentication. The same happens if you choose to use this panel from the desktop of your computer.

Once in your account, you must click on " Go to my activity ". By default, all activities are grouped by day. You can expand this list and see the individual elements for the service you use. If you tend to do a lot of things through Chrome and Android, you can find a lot of detail, especially when it comes to your use of the web and search history.

What information does Google collect about you?

Your name, postal address, age, e-mail address, your telephone model, cell phone provider, plan plus internet and telephone consumption. The words you use most frequently in your emails. All emails you have written or received, including spam. The names of your contacts, their addresses and telephone numbers.

The photos you take with your Android phone, although you may have deleted them and never published them on social networks. The sites you browse, inside and outside the country; the date of the visit and the path you took to reach a website. The speed with which you arrived. The credit or debit card you use to pay.

All the internet sites that you visited through Google, the frequency and what you saw within each site. The language you are looking for. The time you browse. Who did you talk to via Hangouts. What are the videos you like and what music do you listen to?

These and other categories appear in Google's privacy policy document, which totals 2, 874 words.

People trust too much and share without thinking about the vastness of information about themselves, when the reward is a free email account, a few gigabytes of storage and the possibility of belonging to a virtual world with friends and acquaintances. Take a look at how you can better organize and delete your data.

My account

In June 2015, Google began to collect all private information about users in a place called "My account" or "My account" in English. If you have never opened a Gmail account, Google will also have your information, but will not be able to relate it to your name.

According to data cited by the publication Business Insider a few months ago, there are an estimated 2.3 million active Google users around the world. I mean: it is very likely that your name is on the list.

"My Activity" opens several options. The screen includes daily YouTube activity, searches, notifications, news, help, and more.

Here, it is possible to filter the material by date and the specific product from the top of the "My activity" panel. There is also the option to delete the history, indicated by the three dots next to each search.

But before confirming the action, a window will appear indicating that " your activity can make Google more useful, with better travel options on the maps and better search results."

In the upper left corner, the menu icon (three horizontal stripes) opens other data options.

Use the option "Other activity in Google" to access what Google saves about your trips, phone and much more.

Everything you have done on Google Maps must be registered. To see all the data in that category, go back to " My activity " and filter the results in the " Maps " categories.

Another interesting category is ads. You can access that section by going to the top, My account> Personal information and privacy.

Click on " Ad Settings ". Within this section, select the option " Manage the ad preference tool " and discover what Google thinks your interests are (based on what you look for most frequently).

You can also ask Google for a copy of all the information the company keeps about you. To do this, go back to " My account " (upper right corner, in the circle with your initial). Located under " Ad Settings " is " Control Your Content." Select this option and you will see a screen like this:

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" Create file " will take you to another screen with the option to decide what Google data you want to include in the copy.

Google cautions that compiling the data may take days. And opening some of them can be a bit difficult: some files are in very rare formats like.json.mbox.

However, it is not possible to access a list of "most used words" in messages, as Google says that the process of monitoring messages is fully automated. In addition, Google sends all the photos it has saved: all the ones you have taken with your phone in recent years.

How is it possible that Google has so much information about you? Very simple: you do not pay your e-mail or your video service with money, but you do with your data. In other words, information is the new exchange currency.

And this information is a gold mine. For the most powerful company in the world, it represents billions of dollars. Therefore, whenever you say that you agree to the terms and conditions that almost no one reads, you will be giving your information.

Google and Europe have already clashed over issues such as privacy, monopoly, the right to be forgotten and data collection. The company was fined in some cases, but is generally considered to operate within the legal framework.

What to do? Too much data for Google?

Experts agree that there is very little to be done in this regard. A conscious and organized effort is necessary to avoid being followed in your internet browsing. For example: Not using Google and doing different activities on different computers or with different accounts? Something tedious but… Who assures us that the same thing will happen with another search engine?

It's the price to pay to use many great tools for free: allowing the company to collect data about you and then sell it to advertisers, then show you the ads it thinks will most grab your attention.

What do you think of our guide on how to delete Google data step by step? Do you think like us or what solution do you propose? As always we recommend reading our tutorials and if you have any questions, you can contact us.