Forget the eyes, Google search is the window to your soul. And when your searches speak volumes about your hypochondria or inability to perform simple math equations (same), that might not always be such a good thing. Thankfully, Google released a tool this week called My Activity that will allow you to see a collection of what you’ve watched, searched and viewed using their services.
With My Activity, you’re finally privy to the information advertisers use to sell you products they believe you’ll love based on your demographic and interests, according to The Guardian. Delve into the troves of your online history labeled by date, location and platform (YouTube, Google Chrome, Google Maps and more). It’s unclear how far back you’re able to go, but you can delete searches you don’t want affiliated with your account.
This will make Google’s latest advertising extension opt-in, not opt-out. If a user does not enable ad targeting, they will not be automatically enrolled. Opting-in grants users fine-tuned control over how ads work across their devices. Google notes that if a user turns off these ad-extension options, the user will still see ads, but they will be less relevant to the user’s interests. Ads still may be based on general location.
The information on “My Activity” also includes users’ Chrome browsing history, Google searches, image searches and YouTube searches. The “My Activity” feature enables users to delete records of their online search requests in a single location, rather than visiting various websites and apps. Android users will notice a lot more of their lives have been collected by Google since Android smartphones are heavy on Google apps.
For better or for worse, these searches don’t disappear into the ether, as “Google may keep service-related information about your account, like which Google products you used and when, to prevent spam and abuse and to improve our services,” the company said on their website.
You can also save yourself the hassle by preventing your operating system from saving searches going forward. Access to the tool isn’t widespread just yet, but all Google users should be getting a notification in the near future.