Google Privacy Issues: Web History

[marguerite_26]

Originally posted by chantefable at Google Privacy Issues: Web History

Originally posted by vaysh11 at Google Privacy Issues: Web History

Originally posted by moonflower_rose at Google Privacy Issues: Web History

If 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.

Comments

[rufflefeather.livejournal.com]

This makes me want to throw out my computer and go live like a hermit on a mountain somewhere.

[marguerite-26.livejournal.com]

Sounds great. I'll go with you and we can be hermits together!
(sorry... i'm impossibly social)

[brunettepet.livejournal.com]

Thanks for this. I had been meaning to look into opting out and now you've made it easy!

[marguerite-26.livejournal.com]

Someone else made it easy! I just clicked share. ;)

[waltzing-mice.livejournal.com]

Thanks Maggie. Did, done, and shared.

[marguerite-26.livejournal.com]

me too! and I'm glad you shared... I was seeing this post around and thinking, I should do that and then suddenly March 1st is TOMORROW.

[katie-andrew.livejournal.com]

Oh god. THANK YOU!

I clicked on the "THIS LINK" and it said "The page you requested is invalid." :(

[katzenjammerd.livejournal.com]

Just to let you know, that happened to me too.

Thanks for all the info!

[marguerite-26.livejournal.com]

there's a bit more discussion in the thread below if it still doesn't work for you.

[marguerite-26.livejournal.com]

Are you logged into google?

What about the steps before that, were you able to do them?

[katie-andrew.livejournal.com]

Yep, and yes, the others worked.

[marguerite-26.livejournal.com]

That's odd. It makes me sign in a second time, but I am able to see the log in page then click the link. :/

MAybe try signing in and back out? Then click?

[katie-andrew.livejournal.com]

It makes me log-in too. Hmm... It wouldn't be an American thing, would it?

[marguerite-26.livejournal.com]

i don't know... I'm in Canada.

[katie-andrew.livejournal.com]

Haha, I know, dear. I meant maybe I was having an issue because I live in America. The part of America people forget about, but still.

[kattale.livejournal.com]

Thank you for this.
I wish I could remember my gmail account.
In the 2 days of searching, I still haven't found it - I thought it was the same username as my yahoo, but it says it doesn't exist. However, a search on my Yahoo email address found a google account under the yahoo name (weird) with a web history I don't recall activating. Then I found a gmail account under my twitter name, which is only a few months old... how did I get that? It had web history turned off.

I still think I have a gmail account floating around out there that I've forgotten about...

[marguerite-26.livejournal.com]

ha! good luck on your search. :)

[claudia-yvr.livejournal.com]

Better yet, disable web history entirely ;-)

[marguerite-26.livejournal.com]

Is there a way to do that beyond what is explained here? If so do tell. :)

[claudia-yvr.livejournal.com]

Absolutely! Go here (https://www.google.com/history/?hl=en-CA&authuser=0) and make sure that it isn't turned on.

[marguerite-26.livejournal.com]

Thank you! Out of curiosity, is that different than the 'this link' as linked above.

[claudia-yvr.livejournal.com]

I didn't actually check your link before my previous reply. It's just the instructions you posted told people how to clear existing history but didn't warn them to turn it off so that future history wouldn't be stored. (And #5 is a wee bit inaccurate. I never had web history turned on, but I never got prompted to see if I wanted to. However, my mom's gmail account was collecting history, so I cleared it out for her and then clicked on the No thanks button so she wouldn't collect any in the future.)

Incidentally, I just checked 'this link' to compare and it took me to the Google website with the message The page you requested is invalid.

Google is *&^%$ with us. As per usual, LOL!

[marguerite-26.livejournal.com]

Okay, thanks!

A few people above were having issues with 'this link' not work either. I was hoping you had another way around it. Damn google.

[kitty_fic]

This stresses me out so much *pulls hair out*

[marguerite-26.livejournal.com]

Ikr? I don,t want to have to worry about this shit.