How To Auto-Delete Google’s ‘Location History’ Tracking Data?
Back in May 2019, Google promised that it would let you auto-delete the web activity and location history it collects through your Google account. The company is keeping its word by releasing new tools to set a time-limit for the expiration of your personal data.
Now users can delete their location history, both on Android and iOS. You can choose between auto-deleting data after 3 or 18 months. Enabling this feature will wipe out the extensive trail of info that you left online.
Please note that the same functionality for app and web activity data hasn’t arrived yet. Google has said that auto-delete tools for the same will arrive sometime in the “coming weeks.” Nevertheless, it is reassuring that we now have more control over our data.
How to delete your Google location data?
You can follow these steps to have your data deleted automatically at regular intervals:
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- On Android, open your Google account in the Settings app.
- Go to to ‘Data & Personalization’
- Tap on ‘Web & App Activity’
- Select ‘Choose to delete automatically’
- Next, tap on ‘Choose how long to keep’
- Here, you can either select 18 months or 3 months
Choosing either of the two will set a corresponding timer for auto-deletion of your data.
The option to allow Google to keep the data until you delete it manually is also there. Further, you can choose to pause other options like Google’s web and app activity tracking.
This data helps Google show us relevant ads, and allows it to provide better search results and recommendations in apps like Google Maps and browser.
However, if you value your privacy more than personalization of your search results, you should turn on this feature now.
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