If someone kept track of your holiday destinations, you’d probably feel a bit uneasy. It may surprise you to learn that Google and other businesses often do that online. Although Google has a lot of useful applications, there’s a possibility the internet giant knows where you are if you have one of their apps on your iPhone or Android smartphone. Certain Google applications may continue to save your location with a time stamp even if you have off the location history feature for your Google account.

With tools like Your Data in Maps and Search, which provide you with instant access to your location preferences, Google made it simpler to manage what location and other data is retained and what is erased after an Associated Press investigation in 2018.

This post is a part of 12 Days of Tips, which aims to maximize your health, home, and technology over the holidays.
But in January 2022, a number of states filed lawsuits against Google for using location data. According to the claims, Google makes it “nearly impossible” for users to stop location tracking. Google defended itself against the charges, claiming they were untrue and based on out-of-date allegations about its settings.

Fortunately, you can check and modify some settings to prevent Google from tracking you. We’ll explain how to verify and disable Google monitoring, as well as the potential consequences of doing so.

Take a look: Use these options to prevent Google from saving your location and browsing history.
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Disable location monitoring on Google

Here’s how to prevent Google from recording your location.

1. Launch Google.com on a desktop or mobile browser, then click the button in the upper right corner to sign into your Google account.
2. Choose Manage your Google account after selecting your user symbol in the upper right corner.
3. Choose Personalization & Privacy.
4. In the History settings box, choose Location history under Things you’ve done and locations you’ve been. Activity controls are then opened.
5. Click the Turn off option on the right under Location History. A pop-up window opens as a result.
6. Choose Pause by scrolling to the bottom of this window.

Disabling location history merely deletes your past whereabouts from the Google Maps Timeline feature, which records your position together with particular information at a given moment. Even when disabled, “some location data may continue to be saved in other settings,” such as your site and app activity, according to Google’s help page on the subject. Google assured us that it never shares this information with advertising or other parties and utilizes it to make features more useful and tailored. However, there are a couple additional actions you can do to prevent Google from knowing your whereabouts at all times if you’re still uncomfortable with that.

A phone with the Google Maps logo

Prevent Google Maps from saving your location.
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What does this prevent Google from keeping on file?
By pausing this option, Google stops collecting data gathered from searches or other activities and ceases storing location markers linked to certain actions. Turning it off protects your home address and other locations you travel, including your approximate position.

Be aware that Google will still need to access your location in order to utilize certain functions, such as the Maps app. But if you follow the aforementioned instructions, it won’t save any further activity. In order to preserve user privacy, Google timestamps your activity within a geographical region that is more than one square mile in size and usually has more than 1,000 users. According to Google’s help page on the subject, this preserves user privacy while enabling them to identify anomalous behavior, such a sign-in from a different city.

You may, however, allow Google to utilize your exact location—that is, your actual address—to provide the most relevant search results for your current location.

Benefits and drawbacks of disabling Google tracking
There are various disadvantages to turning off this default option. Some may find Google’s settings obtrusive, but they also contribute to a highly customized internet experience by displaying tailored advertisements or assisting users in finding local companies rather than ones in other cities. According to Google, they assist in providing consumers with more pertinent information rather than irrelevant information.

Disabling tracking may result in a less tailored experience while using the search engine, its applications, and services overall, as well as less relevant advertisements and useful search suggestions. Turning off tracking will stop Google from figuring out what you may be interested in, which is good for those who want targeted adverts. However, disabling this option can be worth the loss of detail for those who value privacy above all else.

In summary, you have the option to keep your privacy intact and forego the customized online experience, or you can keep seeing relevant advertisements and search recommendations in place of more arbitrary, unfiltered content.

Take a look: Google is aware of your location.
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Delete previous location data

Disabling tracking won’t erase any already collected data, but it will stop Google from recording new location data. This is how to remove that data.

1. Launch Google.com on a desktop or mobile browser, then click the button in the upper right corner to sign into your Google account.
2. After signing in, choose Manage your Google account by selecting your user symbol in the upper right corner.
3. Choose Personalization & Privacy.
4. In the History settings box, choose Location history under Things you’ve done and locations you’ve been. Activity controls are then opened.
5. At the bottom of the page, choose Manage history. This displays a chronology in the upper left corner of the map. The timeline displays where you were at what moment, and the map displays your travel history.
6. Choose a date in the timeline to remove your location for that date. After then, the date will appear underneath the timeline. To the right of the date, choose the trash symbol. In the popup that appears, choose Delete day.
7. Click the trash symbol next to the Map and Satellite display choices in the lower right corner of the map to remove all of your location history at once.
8. Click the “I understand and want to delete all Location History” box in the pop-up window. Choose “Delete location history.”

Prevent Google from gathering information about your online and app use.

By default, Google only saves 18 months’ worth of online and app activity when you create a new account; everything after that is instantly erased, reducing the amount of data it gathers. Here’s how to prevent Google from gathering information about your future app and online use.

1. Launch Google.com on a desktop or mobile browser, then click the button in the upper right corner to sign into your Google account.
2. After signing in, choose Manage your Google account by selecting your user symbol in the upper right corner.
3. Choose Personalization & Privacy.
4. In the History settings box, choose Web & App Activity under Things you’ve done and locations you’ve visited. Activity Controls is now accessible.
5. Under Web & App Activity, choose Turn off.
6. Choose Pause by scrolling to the bottom of the pop-up window.
7. Click “Gave it.”

Use This Setting Change to Prevent iPhone Apps From Tracking You
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Delete your location and activity records automatically

If you would want to have your Google location and activity data erased automatically at certain periods, you can also do that. Here’s how.

1. Launch Google.com on a desktop or mobile browser, then click the button in the upper right corner to sign into your Google account.
2. After signing in, choose Manage your Google account by selecting your user symbol in the upper right corner.
3. Choose Personalization & Privacy.
4. In the History settings box, choose Web & App Activity or Location History under Things you’ve done and locations you’ve visited. This brings up Activity Controls for the desired setting.
5. Under Auto-delete, choose an auto-delete option.
6. From the Auto-delete activity older than drop-down option, choose the period you want to use (3 months, 18 months, or 36 months).
7. Click Next.
8. Click “Gave it.“

Clear up your entire Google app and online history.

Google still keeps your previous data, even if you have blocked them from tracking your online and app activities. To remove your past online and app activity, follow these steps.

1. Launch Google.com on a desktop or mobile browser, then click the button in the upper right corner to sign into your Google account.
2. Click your user symbol in the upper right corner after signing in, then choose Manage your Google account.
3. Select Personalization & Privacy.
4. In the History settings box, choose Web & App Activity under Things you’ve done and locations you’ve visited. The Activity Controls are then shown.
5. In the area at the bottom of the screen, choose Manage all Web & App Activity.
6. Click Delete on the right under Search your activities.
7. The choices to remove your Web & App Activity from the Last Hour, Last Day, All Time, or Custom range will be shown in the new window. Choose “All time.”
8. You will be prompted to confirm that you want to remove your activity in a new window that opens. Click “Delete.”
9. Click “Gave it.”