Google has been infamous for gathering user data on its various platforms. This data is processed and used to generate targeted ads, and also to provide a more personalised experience on your device. For example, your Youtube search history determines the videos that are recommended to your on your home page, your Google search history determines the ads that you see on other websites or platforms where you use your Google account as a login method.
It doesn’t even matter what kind of device you using (Android or iOS) – if there is a Google app on it, your data will be accessed and processed. Obviously, the search engine giant claims that they do not use the user data for unethical purposes, but there are other malicious elements out there, who can also access this data via hacking or data leaks, and they definitely do not have ethical intentions.
If you want to stay safe from all this, here are 3 dangerous Google settings that you should turn off on your Android smartphone.
Note – This guide can be used on Android or iOS devices. Android devices will have these apps by default, but if you are on iOS and you have the Google apps being mentioned, you can use this guide to turn off the particular settings.
Table of Contents
Number 1. Location History
Step 1. Open the Google Maps app on your smartphone.
Step 2. On the top right-hand side of the home page, tap on the profile icon.
Step 3. From the menu that appears, tap on the Settings option.
Step 4. In the settings menu, tap on the Personal content option.
Step 5. In the personal content menu, tap on the ‘Location History’ option.
Step 6. Make sure the Timeline feature is turned off.
Number 2. Web and App activity
Step 1. Open the Google Maps app on your smartphone.
Step 2. On the top-right hand side of the home page, tap on the user profile icon.
Step 3. From the menu that appears, tap on the ‘manage your Google account’ button.
Step 4. In the Google account settings, tap on the ‘Data and Privacy’ option.
Step 5. Scroll through the menu, and tap on the ‘Web and App Activity’ option.
Step 6. By default, this setting is turned on, but we want to turn it off. To do this, tap on the ‘Turn Off’ button.
Step 7. Now, tap on the ‘Turn off and Delete Activity’ option.
Number 3. Personalised ads
Step 1. Open the Google Maps app on your smartphone.
Step 2. On the top-right hand side of the home page, tap on the user profile icon.
Step 3. From the menu that appears, tap on the ‘manage your Google account’ button.
Step 4. In the Google account settings, tap on the ‘Data and Privacy’ option.
Step 5. Scroll through the menu and tap on the ‘My Ad Centre’ under the personalised ads.
Step 6. This setting is also turned on by default, but we want to turn this off, so simply tap on the ‘on’ button.
Step 7. On the next window, tap on the ‘turn off’ option and you are done.
By turning off these 3 settings, you can ensure that majority of your data is kept away from Google, and you will also gradually stop seeing personalised
