You might not be aware of this or just don’t think about it, if you use your Gmail account, on the web, iOS or Android, Google collects a lot of data from you.
You are in control and you can control what you want Google to collect from your activities online. In this article, I will show you how you can take control of the data being collected by Google. Let’s get started with the browser, if you are a user of the Chrome Browser there are a few things you can do to protect your data.
How to clean up your browser history
You can clean up your browsing history by Clear Browsing Data, you find the information here:
You can choose which data to delete, my recommendation is to delete all, yes it can be inconvenient, it’s your choice as to how much you sharing with Google.
How to choose the settings for your Google Chrome browser
If you open up the settings in the Google Chrome browser – just enter chrome://settings/ – In the box where you enter URLs the settings will open up.
There are many settings, and I’m not going through them all. Just pointing out the most important. Sign In to sync your Google Chrome browsing history with your Gmail account, so you can use the data across multiple devices.
If you choose to sign in – you should make sure that you have set the settings of what you are syncing with Google. If you are signed in you can check your sync history here – Chrome Sync Dashboard
You can reset your sync in the Google chrome sync dashboard to clear what been collected, click reset sync.
How to check your privacy on Google
You control your personal information and you control what personal information is collected. In your Google Account, you can do a Privacy Checkup to set up what you want to be collected.
Login to Gmail and select “My Account”:
Deleting your activities across devices that you use
You can also delete all your activities across all your devices, it is straightforward:
How to set the Google Ads Settings
If you noticed target ads from site you previously have visited, you can change the Ads settings in “My Account”:
Apps connected to your account
To review and readjust apps that are connected to your account, go to your Google Account page and click on Connected Apps & Sites > Manage Apps (you can alternatively click on this link):
A list of all the apps that have access to your account appears. Clicking on each app expands it, providing you with details about what kind of information or features it can access. Be wary of apps that have full access to your account.
To terminate the app’s access to your account, simply click on the Remove button. It’s as simple as that.
Conclusion
Google collects a lot of information from your activities online, you need to be aware of all that and periodically review your settings in Chrome Browser as well as checking your Gmail account.
I hope this was useful to you, and that you now taking the actions to start cleaning up your Gmail account and select the settings that work for you.
Don’t forget to enable 2 Factor Authentication (2FA) – which you can read about in this article Enable 2 step verification gsuite account
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