How to Limit Google Tracking and Personalization
Where you go, Google often tags along. The company keeps tabs on your searches, viewing habits, and activity across its platforms. While this might seem convenient—especially if you want to revisit past searches or locations—it can also feel invasive.
Google claims this data helps deliver “more personalized experiences,” which means faster search results and supposedly smarter suggestions. But let’s be honest—this usually translates to targeted ads based on your behavior.
If you’re curious about what Google knows about you, visit the My Activity dashboard.
Manage Web & App Activity Tracking
If you use Google products like Search, Maps, or YouTube, your actions are logged under the Web & App Activity setting. To stop this, navigate to the setting and use the dropdown to select Turn off. If you want to wipe your entire history, choose Turn off and delete activity—this disables tracking and removes all previously stored data.
You can also manage individual services like Maps, Search, or News. Select the app, then review the timeline of your activity. To delete an item, click the X, or use the top-right dropdown menu to remove specific or all records tied to that app.
Beyond that, Google also tracks Chrome activity, voice and audio input, and Visual Search, though these were already disabled in my account. You can also use auto-delete settings to periodically erase your history. Options include auto-deleting data after 3, 18, or 36 months.
Stop Location Tracking and Manage Your Google Maps Timeline
Google’s Timeline stores all your location data—including every place you’ve visited and the routes you’ve taken. It’s incredibly detailed and frankly unsettling. Fortunately, Google now stores this data on individual devices and deletes it after three months by default.
To control this, open the Google Maps app on your phone. Tap your profile picture, go to Your Timeline, and see where you’ve been. You can delete a day’s data by clicking the trash icon or remove individual locations using the three-dot menu beside them.
To adjust how your location is tracked, open Location & privacy settings in the three-dot menu. I chose to turn off Google Photos integration so my images wouldn’t appear on the map.
In the Timeline settings, you can disable Timeline altogether or delete past location history. There’s also an Auto-delete Timeline option, where you can set Google to erase your location data every 3, 18, or 36 months—or keep it forever, though I wouldn’t recommend that.
Turn Off Personalized Ads via Google’s Ad Center
Google also uses your browsing and app activity, YouTube history, and location info to tailor ads.
In the Data & privacy section of your account, scroll to Personalized ads. Click My Ad Center, then open the menu in the top-right and select Turn off. This disables personalized ad settings and clears your ad profile.
But there’s more—go back to the Personalized ads section and open Partner ad settings. Here, disabled the option that lets third-party partners use my data for targeted advertising. Even if you don’t disable everything, visiting these settings gives you a clearer picture of what Google collects—and how to take back some control. Whether it’s pausing activity tracking, trimming your location history, or stopping personalized ads, a few minutes spent in your account settings can go a long way in protecting your digital privacy.
Newer Articles
- How to Remove Personal Info from Google Search Results in 2025
- Helping Your Child Build Confidence
- How to Sign Up for Microsoft’s Extended Security Updates
