Google Allows Users to Protect their Search History
Google plays a vital role in everyone’s life. It has become the ultimate search engine that lets users search for anything they want whether it be the Cox customer service or something else. One of the best things about Google is that it keeps a running list of everything you search for either on its search engine or on its other products like Google Maps and YouTube. This feature is very useful as it can serve as a digital repository. As long as you are logged in to your Google account, you can go to activity.google.com and click any of the location, web, and YouTube links to see your searches.
How to Protect Your Google Search History from Malicious Actors
As Google stores your sensitive data, it is imperative to make sure that your search history remains safe from malicious actors. There are some ways that you can opt for to make sure no one gets a glimpse of what you are searching for. You will also be able to block Google from knowing about your searches. With that said, here are a few ways to safeguard your Google search history:
#1. Password Protect Your Google Search History
Google takes security quite seriously. This is the reason why Google recommends you protect your account by using a complex password and two-factor authentication. This will reduce the chances of your account getting hacked. However, if you are on your PC, chances are that your browser has the password stored. This means that your family members may use the system and they might accidentally access your search history. Therefore, the need for additional security will be felt. Well, Google heard you! The company has introduced a password feature to protect your online search history. What this means is that even if your Google account gets accessed by someone, they will not be able to view your search history unless they enter the right password that you set up.
If you want to apply a password to your search history, head over to your Google account and click Data & Personalization, and then go to Web & App Activity. Now, click on Manage Activity and go to Manage My Activity Verification. You will now need to hit Require extra verification and then press Save.
#2. Auto-Delete Your Google Search History
You may not know this, but you can auto-delete your Google searches. If you want to enable this feature, all you have to do is head over to the Google account page and then hit Data & Personalization. You can then go to Web & App Activity. Once there, find Auto-delete. You will then be taken to a new screen where you can get rid of your search history.
If you choose to click Manage Activity instead of Auto-Delete, Google will give you permission to delete your searches manually. You can even use the filter option to search for particular things and can then delete the search to completely erase it. You will also be interested to know that Google allows users to delete the last 15 minutes of their search history.
#3. Avoid Google
Another way that you can prevent Google from keeping track of your search history is to not let it log into the account in the first place. If you open a private window or incognito in your browser before heading over to search for something on Google, the session will not be saved. Once you have completed your search, you can simply close the window and Google will forget whatever you searched for.
To launch incognito in Google Chrome, tap on the three-dots in the top-right corner of the browser. Once you do that, hit New Incognito Window, and voila, you will now be able to search for anything you want without the fear of your session getting recorded. For opening a private window in Microsoft Edge, simply click on three-dots on the top right corner and choose New InPrivate Window.
Conclusion
Millions of people use Google every day to search for information. They often don’t realize the fact that the searches they are running on the search engine are getting recorded. And if this data lands in the wrong hands, it could have some serious repercussions. However, since Google takes the privacy of its users seriously, it has introduced a new feature that allows people to password-protect their online sessions. Apart from that, you can also enable the auto-delete feature that allows the search engine to quickly remove the search history. So, try implementing one of the aforementioned tips to remain secure on the web.
