WANT TO DELETE YOUR GOOGLE BROWSER HISTORY THIS WEEK?

Source: Dateline Zero

As of March 1, Google’s new “shorter and easier to read” privacy policy will go into effect. At that time, Google — which also includes its Internet search, YouTube, Gmail, Docs, Music, Calendar, and other services — will begin “[treating] you as a single user across all [of its] products.”

In short, Google is trying to consolidate its services. Google wants to offer a single menu of offerings; rather than different products, each with its own policies. An example provided by the company is the ability to let you know you’re late for a meeting based on your location and your calendar schedule.

Some people might enjoy the combined services; but others might be freaked out by having your personal information gleaned and used in real-time. So, what is there to do if you want Google to hold a little less personal information about you?

The Daily Mail suggests a good starting step is to delete your browser history. It even offers the steps on how to do so:

1. Go to the Google homepage and sign into your account. Use the dropdown menu under your name in the upper right-hand corner to access your settings. Click on “account settings”, like below.

2. Next, find the section called “Services” and you’ll see a link to “View, enable, or disable web history”, shown in the red box below. Click on it.

3. Finally, you can remove all of your search details by clicking on “Remove Web History”, shown in the red box below. Once you have done this your history will remain  disabled until you turn it back on.

The Daily Mail notes that while clearing your browsing history won’t prevent Google from storing this info for its own purposes, it will at least become anonymous.

Google announced in January that it would be reducing its more than 60 privacy policies into one cohesive message. With this new policy, if you are logged into Google, the company may be able to collect your information from one service to another, recognizing preferences and making connections across its platforms.

If you think not logging into Google will prevent tracking, the Daily Mail points out that the company will just track you by IP address. Google says that this updated policy doesn’t deviate from its core principals.

Instructional images: Daily Mail

Original post: Dateline Zero