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Why You Might Want to Delete Your Google Browser History Before Next Week

Feb. 24, 2012 12:40am Liz Klimas

As of March 1, Google’s new, “shorter and easier to read” privacy policy will go into effect. At that time, the search giant that also includes products such as YouTube, Gmail and Calendar will begin “[treating] you as a single user across all [of its] products.” An example provided by the company is letting you know you’re late for a meeting based on your location and calendar schedule.

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.

How to Delete Google Web History Before Privacy Policy Changes

(Image: Daily Mail)

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.

(Image: Daily Mail)

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.

(Image: Daily Mail)

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. While Google says that this updated policy doesn’t deviate from its core principals.

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Comments (258)

ZaphodsPlanet
Posted on February 24, 2012 at 6:39pm
I have several google accounts for different web sites. However, I DO NOT use gmail and I did shut web history/tracking off on all these accounts. After reading this email I went in to check one of the accounts… and guess what? The bastards were tracking all my history.

Does anyone know a good law firm. The only thing Google is going to understand is a massive…. and I mean massive ass billion dollar class action lawsuit. I remember I was an idiot talking up google long before anyone even knew who they were…. now…. they are just flat out freaking EVIL as hell in all the worst ways.

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steelpanther
Posted on February 24, 2012 at 6:36pm
Man I hate google, always have. I swear I’m the only one that can’t seem to find anything on it either, never gives me what I want, just who ever paid the most.

Other scary thing, is I’ve never installed Google software on my computer, but some how I have Google “Sidewiki” on my computer, I’ve never used it, never heard of it, and I can’t get rid of it as the only way I’ve found is to uninstall Google toolbar, and like I said, I’ve never had it on my computer….

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Wes inTexas
Posted on February 24, 2012 at 6:24pm
@SILVERSMITH, not only the CIA, DoD, but Homeland Security I know has a contract with Google. Let me just say hypothetically a guy I know visited me a few years ago, and knows I have a very old Laptop, made in 1988 with a VGA screen, a Beta of the one released to the general public in 1990, a Compaq SLT/286 w/ a 3-1/2 floppy drive and weighs a ton…Today it is 23 years old, but has not been connected since my company sold it to me for a huge amount of $0.01…I use it only when I do not want to be “connected” and to write. This hypothetical guy may have drove to Tx. w/a set of floppy disks and installed a program for reading docs in a format I had never heard of or seen, then and now. A few times since 2009 I have received a floppy, re-mailed to me from someone else, once decrypted, it listed everywhere I have searched, each site I had been on, length of time, and what I had written on a blog (including my provider, IP address, location home address and phone number)…with Google as my search engine (keep in mind this is only a hypothetical story). However, I do still have a DOS based email/news called ARPANET which ONLY runs from a Dos Prompt.

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- rose-ellen
  Posted on February 24, 2012 at 11:08pm
  delusions of grandeur.They can know every move i make online-so what? i havn’t broken any laws .just like you can use a set of binoculars from your window on anyone in your view-they can compile data based on what you have freely put out on the net[a public space].They are an asset to me if they do the sifting and make me aware of stuff that interests me.
  
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Valkaneer
Posted on February 24, 2012 at 6:19pm
I don’t understand why I keep seeing people say they use Firefox Instead of Google….. Um Firefox is owned by Google.

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- stereojoe
  Posted on February 24, 2012 at 6:25pm
  It is? Google owns Mozilla? Please share…
  
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stereojoe
Posted on February 24, 2012 at 6:17pm
Google will still track you even if you take the precautions issued in this article. In fact, until websites, such as this one, stop using Google Analytics, Google will continue to track your web usages everywhere you go.

The Blaze website uses three (3) Google Java Scripts that will track you throughout the web, everywhere! They are http://www.google-analytics.com/ga.js; http://www.googleadservices.com/pagead/conversion.js; and https://apis.google.com/js/plusone.js

With these scripts openly running on your computer after visiting any website which uses them, Google will track you throughout your journey on the internet. They will know where you go, for how long, what you download, what you search for, what your Geo-Location is, and it will store your IP address.

Until websites stop using Google Code, Google will continue to track you everywhere.

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Mable8
Posted on February 24, 2012 at 6:00pm
Novak Knight Media has a list of the google products anyone can view. I did not see bing or microsoft on the list, but last month, I read another article that listed these two as belonging to google (the gist was that MS had sold some accounts to google–apparently, that isn’t the case). You Tube, as well as Blogging, are definitely on it. The new google policy claims that the occasional user will not be tracked but it doesn’t defien ‘occasional user.’ Some news sites have links to view a video related to the article; when you click the hyperlink you are on the You Tube site. I simply do not trust google anymore; they have betrayed the consumers.

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JustPeachy
Posted on February 24, 2012 at 5:32pm
Ya know, I’ve always been suspicious of Facebook (also connected, isn’t it?). The other night I had a dream (nightmare) that someone kept telling me over and over that FB was tracking me. . . lol

But the other night I had a disturbing thing happen. I was OFF FB and onto another forum/board. I went to click on a link from that board to a video posted on cbs’ web site. (CBS dot com). Before it let me onto the site I received a pop-up from FB, warning me about links. OK, disturbed me because I was no longer ON FB. I wasn’t going to the link FROM FB. I closed the box and tried the link from the board (not of FB, not of CBS) again. Same thing happened. I went ahead and clicked thru to the video and read on the CBS site that I could log in with my FB account.

Soooo, it might seem as if nearly everything is connected somehow these days. I have always been horrified by the amount of info people are willing to put up on FB, without a thought, including some in my own family! :-O I reluctantly joined so I could be a part of a private group, but my info there is extremely limited. Still. . .!!!

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Mable8
Posted on February 24, 2012 at 5:26pm
The new google policy covers all of their products, which includes gmail, you tube, microsoft, and bing. There were quite a few companies mentioned, but these are the ones that come to mind. After deleting the google toolbar earlier this month, I installed AskJeeves as an alternate to Yahoo. I like it rather well; some may want to check it out.

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ConservativeBrony
Posted on February 24, 2012 at 5:03pm
Google sucks in the first place. Nothing but botnets and privacy violations. Duckduckgo and Firefox nightly here. I like how everyone is making a fuss of this, when they’ve pretty much been doing this before, just a lot less obvious.

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AllAmericanGirl22
Posted on February 24, 2012 at 4:59pm
Simple solution here people: stop using Google! Delete your Google account and use another search engine (I recommend Bing or Yahoo!) Problem solved! i deleted my Google acvcount as soon as I heard Glenn say they were with the government and basically stalk everyone on the internet…creepy.

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Nervous Investor
Posted on February 24, 2012 at 4:39pm
Google ain’t the only problem; I wrote the following elsewhere on The Blaze earlier today ….. seems that this section is more apt:

I wonder if anyone else has noticed a major slow down and sluggishness on the Blaze in recent days. I find that I cannot even scroll smoothly through the stories anymore. My browser deletes ALL cookies every time I close it and although this does cause some slowdown when one goes to a web site for the first time each time the browser is opened – the Blaze seems to have become ridiculous. As for these dancing zedo windows and the constant requests for subscription to the email news letter (which I already get) – this is beyond a bore now. Sadly I may just have to give up the Blaze – which is a shame as it is one of my favorites and I have been here since the beginning. I wonder whether The Blaze understands that not everyone has a top of the line DSL or cable connection …. BTW I gave up using Google as my search engine this morning and no problems so far. I may close my Google emails and so on on general principals over the weekend. Anyone able to recommend an email provider that is not so intrusive? I just like to have as much privacy as I can – realizing that there is no such thing again as total privacy – can anyone spell 1984 and THE Party.

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- Mable8
  Posted on February 24, 2012 at 5:47pm
  Nervous Investor: I use Yahoo for email and my main search engine; for an alternate, I installed AskJeeves–and I think you would like this one.
  
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virginiapatriot
Posted on February 24, 2012 at 3:47pm
Our school requires each student to have a Google account. It is issued to each student. I was told that it is required by law to keep a record of every correspondence between the school and parents and students. They chose Google because Google has a convenient way to track all of this. If we want to get announcements or emails from school we have to use the Google account. If we want to email a teacher we have to use the Google account. There is no other option. Most students will probably keep the email address after they graduate. How convenient for Google and the Obama administration.

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Anne
Posted on February 24, 2012 at 3:24pm
What the heck is wrong with a government that wants to know what a 65 year old woman does on the internet. Have they nothing better to do?

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qinncy
Posted on February 24, 2012 at 3:23pm
If I deleat Google from my computer will that take care of it

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aggiebrewer
Posted on February 24, 2012 at 3:07pm
I don’t have a Google account. Do I need to delete history? how?

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ArielJudah
Posted on February 24, 2012 at 3:00pm
The article says”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.” It will be anonymous to who? I am not up to speed on the intricacies of internet security, but will this truly help, even some? If Google still have access to it, and they want to abuse it, what good will this do?

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- aggiebrewer
  Posted on February 24, 2012 at 3:08pm
  I wondered the same thing. THERE IS NO ANONYMITY on the web
  
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Principlex
Posted on February 24, 2012 at 2:56pm
People in America don’t begin to grasp what it means when your information is kept on you. It can be used for anything and people who want power over you are constantly devising ways to use it. If you would like to read what this like in practice, read “Confessions: An Innocent Life in Communist China” by Kang Zenggue. This is a straight-forward honest account of the harrassment that occurs when you lose your right to be an individual who owns and controls his own life. I just finished this book and recommend it to anyone who wants to understand collectivist life on the ground rather than the grand utopian ideals it wants to attain.

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- JustPeachy
  Posted on February 24, 2012 at 5:26pm
  Thanks for the tip, Principlex. I hope Rose_Ellen reads it! :-/
  
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- rose-ellen
  Posted on February 24, 2012 at 5:56pm
  A public bulletin board[the net] that you are free to use or not use is not part of your private life .If however the schools are forcing your children to use google-then you are right to protest that .that would be a violation of your rights.No individual or company has an ethical obligation to be looking after your”privacy” in a public space. Your privacy in a public space [like the net] is your responsibility.For google to be solicitous of your “privacy” regarding how you use the public space of the net-would be just as big brother-ish as not being solicitous of your”privacy” on the net.there is no privacy in public spaces-nor should there be.Your obsession with it and the notion that google should consider how you use this public space secrative and not share it-boggles my mind.that is a nanny state mentality;please google take care that what i chose to put out has a fire wall.get your own fire wall.you who are against nanny states yet want someone to protect your information from getting out in other public spaces.The gov’t intrusion is of course a different matter becaause the gov’t has power to take away your freedom.That is not a level playing field and so google giving info to a gov’t agency which has power over your freedom is turning them into a government informant and spy.that erodes freedom and turns the nation into a police state.
  
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Katie
Posted on February 24, 2012 at 2:55pm
Amendment, thanks for the advice on http://www.duckduckgo.com It’s now my new homepage :)

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sister1_rm
Posted on February 24, 2012 at 2:53pm
Ok. From some of the above comments, I think it’s time for some wisdom my military parents gave me: “Don’t go places you don’t want to be seen, don’t say things you don’t want to be heard, don’t leave tracks when you don’t want to be followed, and keep your secrets to yourself”. They also taught me never to accept gifts from strangers and think before I act or speak.

Like it or not, the internet is a public place where the law will hurt you more often than it will help you. You are responsible for your own privacy: not Google, not Facebook, and certainly not the government. None of the above can be trusted with private information. Anyone who thinks otherwise almost deserves the punishment that comes from such stupidity. Think before dragging out your wallet to make electronic payment (is it safe?, can this business be trusted?), think before doing an online search (do I want to be seen doing this?, can I quickly erase my tracks?), definitly think before updating you Facebook account (do I want my boss or the stranger down the street to know this about me?)

Privacy settings are wonderful, but only when they work and no one repeats or uses what they’ve learned about you.

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phillips1990702
Posted on February 24, 2012 at 2:48pm
Rose-Ellen is an idiot. Google is not the government, but they are essentially doing the government’s work for them. Google shares information it finds with the federal government.

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- rose-ellen
  Posted on February 24, 2012 at 3:17pm
  if that is true then it’s wrong [unless we're dealing with actual crime investigations of specific individuals]Does the blaze and other sites and other search engines not do the same?Anyone can be sharing info with gov’t.On its face there is nothing wrong with google compiling info to serve the clients in the age of the web.it can be empowering to us as individuals to have google “understand” us.yes it is big brother-ish.but that is not big brother[the state].in a highly technoligically advanced 21stc world and a country of 350million people-there is bound to be big brother -ISH centralized data bases.that can be used positively or negatively -we can’t not have them and they benefit us if not abused. you luddites would have probably oppossed drivers licenses on the same kind of grounds you’re now paranoid about google.
  
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LocalSEO
Posted on February 24, 2012 at 2:13pm
Got B2C searches I use Chrome (logged in using my G+ credentials) For B2B searches I use Firefox in Incognito mode. Nary a clue if Mother Google can track me using my IP address in once browser session or the other and not all that concerned one way or another, so long as point A to B get me there.

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independentvoteril
Posted on February 24, 2012 at 2:10pm
I have been unhappy with GOGGLE for awhile..just this last move made me quit procrastinating and just switch to a different browser which I did 2 weeks ago it’s a pain but done..so I just went back and deleted all my history..seems I never signed up for goggle.. I just used them for a search engine..

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gianni d
Posted on February 24, 2012 at 1:49pm
Use IXQUICK. They do not record your IP address

https://ixquick.com/

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- DirtMonkey
  Posted on February 24, 2012 at 3:45pm
  Also ixquick does not use search results from google like their twin startpage.com.
  Even though startpage claims the search results are anonymous, I feel better just avoiding anything to do with google. ;)
  
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Nov_2nd
Posted on February 24, 2012 at 1:44pm
Ever tried to delete your Blaze account? Good luck! It stores ALL your comments and there is no way to delete your user name and comments as a whole.

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Nightjar
Posted on February 24, 2012 at 1:34pm
Thanks for the tip/information, Glenn,
May God richly bless you and yours.

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