How to auto delete your location and search history on Google

It’s common knowledge that Google collects all of your data online, including what you searched for and the places you’ve been to. If you’re someone who values your privacy, the Mountain View company has been offering ways to control what you share with them and how long you share it for.

In a move to keep your information more secure and give you more control, Google is providing more ways to put you in control of the information you share with them, especially for new Google accounts.

What’s new in Google activity history

As explained in its blog post, Google is enabling its auto-delete feature by default for all users signing in to Google for the first time. The search giant has confirmed that app usage and search history of users will be set to delete automatically after 18 months.

To give more control to what users share, location history will be turned off for new users and if enabled, it will be set to delete after 18 months on its own. User activity on YouTube will default to 3 years so that Google can recommend better quality videos depending on your watch history.

What’s the auto-delete feature from Google

Last year, Google released “auto-delete controls” as a means to provide users with a way to manage or delete the data they share the company. Not only were you able to delete all the information that you share with Google but you can also decide for how long that information is stored and accessed by the search giant.

What all can you auto-delete from Google

Until recently, Google only allowed you to automatically delete your Web & App Activity, and Location History. You can now also choose to auto-delete your YouTube History.

Web & App Activity includes your Google Chrome history, the sites you visit, apps, and devices you use on a regular basis. You can also choose to include voice and audio recordings for Google to save from when you search for queries using the Google Assistant.

Location History saves the location you’re currently in and also the places you have visited in the past. This data is then used to serve you with recommendations for your commute, new places to see, and restaurants to dine in.

YouTube History includes a list of YouTube videos you have watched in the past and things you have searched for on the video platform.

How to automatically delete your search, location, and Youtube history

Google offers an easy approach to access your activity history and delete them automatically. You can head over to Google’s Activity Controls page where you can view your activity across all Google services and manage what you share with the search company individually.

Delete your app activity and search history automatically

If you want to set your web search history and app activity to delete automatically, click on the ‘Auto-delete’ option inside the ‘Web & App Activity’ section and select either of these two options – ‘Auto-delete activity older than 3 months’ or ‘Auto-delete activity older than 18 months’.

Selecting the first one will delete all of your search history and app activity every 3 months while the latter will delete them once in every 18 months. After choosing a suitable option, click on ‘Next’, select the ‘Automatically deleting in the future’ option, and hit the ‘Confirm’ button.

Delete your location history automatically

To automatically delete your location history, click on the ‘Auto-delete’ option inside the ‘Location History’ section and choose either ‘Auto-delete activity older than 3 months’ or ‘Auto-delete activity older than 18 months’ depending on how long you want your location data to be stored on Google servers.

After choosing a suitable option, click on the ‘Next’ button, select the ‘Automatically deleting in the future’ option, and hit the ‘Confirm’ button.

Delete your YouTube watch history automatically

If you want Google to delete your watched history on YouTube, you will have to click on the ‘Auto-delete’ option inside the ‘YouTube History’ section. When the popup window appears, choose one of these two options – ‘Auto-delete activity older than 3 months’ or ‘Auto-delete activity older than 18 months’.