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What information does Google hold on me?
How to find out - and control - all the personal information Google holds on you
Have you ever wondered how much personal information Google holds on you? The search giant has made it easier than ever before to keep tabs on what you're sharing with it by using its services - from your Google and YouTube search and browsing histories to the places you've been while logged in. Read on for how to control what you're sharing, and who can see it.
My Account
Google recently announced new privacy and security dashboard My Account, which brings together all user controls in one hub. It's here that you'll find all the information it has stored on you, along with how to delete it should you wish.
Visit https://myaccount.google.com/ and sign in using your Google account.
What information does Google hold on me?
You can check what information is held about you under the Personal Info & privacy tab in the central column (circled), where all data including your email address, phone number, search history and settings are stored.
Once in, you can see all the email addresses associated with your account, along with the phone number you may have provided if needed for account recovery. You can also review how your Google+ profile appears, manage any shared endorsements which will appear within adverts - for example, if you visit a restaurant and give it a star rating, that review may then be used by Google in an advert displayed on a Google search. Should you choose to, it's here you can opt in to share your name and profile picture alongside your endorsement.
Under Search Settings, you can turn on SafeSearch to automatically filter out any inappropriate or explicit pictures that may crop up in an image search, and access your search history, which you can turn off or edit. Only you can see this data, and it shows you the searches you've made by day, your total number of searches and your top sites visited within the past week, month, year or all time.
You can choose to delete individual searches by selecting them and clicking the 'delete' banner which appears at the top of the page.
Account History
Scrolling further down the Personal info & privacy page takes you to your Account History, where you can manage and edit all the data stored under your searching and browsing history, the locations you've been, any information sent from your devices, voice searches and videos you've searched for and watched on YouTube. Within each tab, you can choose to pause the collection of this information, and/or delete your history entirely.
Account Overview
The Account Overview menu provides a sweeping look at your account and all the services associated with it - such as how many Google documents you've created, how many purchases you've made through Google Wallet / Checkout and the number of videos you've uploaded to YouTube. Each setting allows you to easily check and edit your information, and delete any associated services you no longer use.
Download your data
Should you want to create an archive of all your Google data, selecting Create archive presents you with the Google products you want included - such as Calendar, Google Photos or Google Play Books - and how to customise your download format.
Inactive Account Manager
Should you stop using your Google account, it's under Inactive Account Manager you can designate a friend or family member to share your data with. You can set a timeout period after which your account will be treated as inactive, and have the option to notify trusted contacts that you're no longer using said account. You can also notify Google to delete your account on your behalf.
I want to delete my account
If you decide you want to delete your account entirely, you can do so under the Account preferences menu. Scroll down to the Delete your account or service setting, and choose between Delete products or Delete Google account and data.
Under Account preferences, you can also manage your Google Drive storage, change your accessibility settings and change the language you use to view Google.
What kind of data does Google collect on me?
Google claims that all the information it gathers on you is done so with the intention of making their services better suited to you and your needs. It keeps a history of your searches, the videos you've watched, the adverts you interact with and your location, amongst other bits of information.
What does Google do with this?
As well as being used to streamline its products, Google says your data is used to help create behavioural patterns to better protect you from phishing attacks by being able to quickly identify unusual or suspicious activity. This also means they can tailor adverts to you more effectively based on the interests indicated by your browsing habits. You can choose to opt out of this - but not adverts entirely, unfortunately - under the Ads Settings tool. The company is keen to point out it does not sell your information.