How to Stop Google Apps from Tracking You Before Christmas Travel

Google is notorious for tracking and monitoring its users but following public scrutiny, the company has made it easier to control the data it collects on you. Americans should take steps to protect their privacy before traveling for the Christmas holiday.

CNET reports in an article titled “Google is Tracking you, But Changing These Settings Can Stop it,” that Google tracks its users heavily, and even using just one Google app means that the company is storing your information such as your location data.

But after an investigation into the company’s data collection by the Associated Press in 2018, Google has made it easier to control what location and other data is stored by the tech giant. Features like “Your Data in Maps and Search” give users greater control over their stored information, but you still have to find these settings yourself.

However, turning off location history doesn’t guarantee that Google is no longer tracking you, Google states on its support page that even when turned off, “some location data may continue to be saved in other settings,” such as a user’s web and app activity.

So how do we fully stop Google’s location tracking?

CNET explains:

Turn off Google’s location tracking

To completely shut down Google’s ability to log your location, here’s what to do:

1. Open Google.com on your desktop or mobile browser, and log into your Google account by using the button in the top right corner.

2. Click your user icon in the top right corner and select Manage your Google account.

3. Click Privacy & personalization.

4. Click Things you’ve done and places you’ve been.

5. Click Location History inside the History Settings box. This opens Activity Controls.

6. Beneath Location History, click the button on the right that reads Turn off. This opens a pop-up window.

7. Scroll to the bottom of this window and click Pause.

This prevents Google from storing location markets linked to specific actions and the storing of information collected from searches or other activities.

CNET further outlines how to stop Google from collecting additional web and app activity.

 

Read more at CNET here.

Lucas Nolan is a reporter for Breitbart News covering issues of free speech and online censorship. Follow him on Twitter @LucasNolan or contact via secure email at the address lucasnolan@protonmail.com