Audit Google My Activity
Google remembers your searches, the places you have been, and the videos you watched — all viewable on one page called My Activity. Most people have never looked. A quarterly audit takes ten minutes: review what is stored, delete what you do not want kept, and turn on auto-delete for the future. Your digital trail, your call. Pair with protecting health data.
TL;DR / Quick Fix
Quick fix: Google's My Activity page shows everything it remembers — searches, locations, video history. Review it, delete what you do not want kept, and turn on auto-delete for the future. A quarterly audit keeps your digital trail honest without giving up Google's useful memory.
Follow these steps
- Open My Activity. Visit your Google account's data and privacy section and find My Activity. Sign in — this is your data, after all.
- Browse what is stored. Scroll through searches, location history, and video watches. The completeness surprises almost everyone the first time.
- Delete what you do not want. Remove individual items or clear whole time ranges. Deleting is immediate and permanent — be deliberate.
- Turn on auto-delete. Set web, location, and video history to auto-delete after 3, 18, or 36 months. This is the single most effective setting on the page.
- Pause what you do not need. You can pause location history or video history entirely. Google works fine without them; you lose some personalization.
- Repeat quarterly. New data accumulates constantly. A ten-minute review every few months keeps the trail honest without becoming a chore.
What NOT to do
- Do not delete everything in a panic. Some history genuinely helps — maps, remembered searches. Curate, do not nuke.
- Do not forget auto-delete is the real fix. One-time deletions help once; auto-delete helps forever.
- Do not ignore location history specifically. It is the most revealing category — review it with extra care.
- Do not assume pausing deletes the past. Pausing stops new collection; old data needs deleting separately.
Frequently asked questions
Does Google still track me if I pause history?
Pausing stops saving to My Activity, but some data collection continues for service operation. It is less, not zero.
Will deleting history break anything?
Recommendations get less personal and some conveniences fade. Core services keep working normally.
How often should I audit?
Quarterly is plenty for most people. Set a calendar reminder and make it routine.