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How To Delete Your Data From Google's 'My Activity' (vortex.com)

Posted by EditorDavid on from the rewriting-histories dept.

Last summer Google revealed personalized data dashboards for every Google account, letting users edit (or delete) items from their search history as well as their viewing history on YouTube. Now Slashdot reader Lauren Weinstein writes: Since posting "The Google Page That Google Haters Don't Want You to Know About" last week, I've received a bunch of messages from readers asking for help using Google's "My Activity" page to control, inspect, and/or delete their data on Google. The My Activity portal is quite comprehensive and can be used in many different ways, but to get you started I'll briefly outline how to use My Activity to delete activity data.
CNET points out you can also access the slightly-creepier "Google Maps location history" by clicking the menu icon in the upper left corner and selecting "Other Google activity." But Weinstein writes, "I have no problems with Google collecting the kinds of data that provide their advanced services, so long as I can choose when that data is collected, and I can inspect and delete it on demand. The google.com/myactivity portal provides those abilities and a lot more."

10 of 44 comments (clear)

  1. How deleted are the data? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Informative

    How deleted are the data? Are they removed from any and all backups? Are they deleted by any and all third parties the data may have been bought by or shared? Are the corresponding data removed from all 'anonymized' data dumps?

    1. Re:How deleted are the data? by fahrbot-bot · · Score: 2

      How deleted are the data? ...

      Your data is just moved to the hidden account Google keeps about you (and everyone else, even those w/o Google accounts) where it exists forever - you know, like Facebook does.

      --
      It must have been something you assimilated. . . .
    2. Re:How deleted are the data? by WarJolt · · Score: 2

      The aggregated data google uses to tell stories about trends will always contain your data. Also anonymized data is easy to deanonymize. By deleting your location data you are only preventing yourself and presumably any lawyer that might subpoena your personal records from accessing the data.

  2. Provides help only to those who understand well. by Futurepower(R) · · Score: 3, Insightful

    "I have no problems with Google collecting the kinds of data that provide their advanced services, so long as I can choose when that data is collected, and I can inspect and delete it on demand. The google.com/myactivity portal provides those abilities and a lot more."

    Most people, however, won't know that opportunity exists. So, only technically-knowledgeable people get the benefit.

    In fact, Google is collecting HUGE amounts of data. Anyone who uses the NoScript and Disconnect add-ons can see that Google services are used by many, many web sites.

  3. Honored ? How? by redelm · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Non-routine deleted data is often the most interesting data of all.

    Furthermore, most databases do not actually delete records, just flag them as "DELETED". Such records might be actually deleted/overwritten when a "Compaction" run is performed to recover space into larger blocks--if ever, might just recover LRU. How do we know what Google implements even if it not DELETED==INTERESTING?

  4. Deletion? On Google? by aglider · · Score: 2

    Maybe you're talking about the feeling of deletion. Nothing will ever be deleted on Google. Be assured.

    --
    Sent as ripples into the electromagnetic field. No single photon has been harmed in the process.
  5. Re:Honored ? How? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Interesting

    That's why there are strict policies requiring periodic compactions for anything holding user data. (Disclaimer: yes, I work for Google.)

  6. Google is privacy hazard by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Interesting

    I have stopped using Google which needs any login. I got burnt few years ago. I had been using Google chat for long time and whenever I felt the conversation was confidential, I will go to "chat" folder and delete specific conversation. Few years later, I moved from iPhone to Google Nexus. I had just setup phone using my gmail id and my wife was looking through my phone. Since I had deleted anything confidential, I gave the phone to her. Apparently all the private conversion that I had with my parents, siblings and others (no affair was involved) was all there. Now, these conversation were not at accessible in browser and appeared in Google Hangout app. When I contacted Google support, they told me, I have to mark the conversation off record before beginning the conversation and there is no way to delete conversation without deleting the whole chat history. Few months later, I sold my Nexus and moved to iPhone. I have stopped using gmail and all other Google accounts.

    I still use google apps anonymously. Google Search, youtube, maps are still my primary app, but no more Google accounts and for the same reasons, I don't trust Chrome browser. I only use Chrome browser for compatibility testing of my software on my company machine (no chrome on my personal machines).

  7. It's not Google Maps, it's Google Fit by Zanadou · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Actually, it's not Google Maps that that's the most creepy when it comes to location tracking: it's Google Fit.

    After using the Google Takeout service the other day I noticed Fit does a LOT more fine-tuned location tracking than Maps, and I don't think there's an easy option to delete all of Fit's location data. Deleting all of Maps's location history does not affect Fit's location history.

    Yeah, I guess that's the whole point of fitness tracking, but it's still creepy.

  8. easy way... by scatbomb · · Score: 2

    STOP USING GOOGLE. They're evil, screw 'em. Already switched to their competitors for everything.