Keeping you safe online is a top priority at Google, especially for the thousands of Googlers who work on privacy and security around the world. Today on Data Privacy Day, we’re sharing some of the many ways we keep you safe online and across our products—from built-in protections to easy tools that keep you in control of your privacy.
1. Keep your passwords safe
Password Manager in your Google Account helps you remember and securely store strong passwords for all your online accounts. With Password Checkup, one click will tell you if any of your passwords are weak—whether you’ve reused them across multiple sites, or if we’ve discovered they’ve been compromised in a third-party data breach—and we’ll give you the link to change them.
2. Let Google automatically delete your data
With auto-delete for Location History, Web & App Activity and YouTube History, you can choose to have Google automatically and continuously delete your activity and location history after 3 or 18 months. You can also control what data is saved in your account with easy on/off controls in your Google Account, and even delete your data by date, product and topic.
3. Use your favorite Google apps in Incognito mode
Incognito mode has been one of our most popular privacy controls since it launched with Chrome in 2008, and last year we added it to YouTube and Google Maps. Tap from your profile picture to easily turn it on or off. When you turn on Incognito mode in Maps, your activity—like the places you search or get directions to—won’t be saved to your Google Account. When you turn off Incognito mode, you’ll return to a personalized Google Maps experience with restaurant recommendations, information about your commute, and other features tailored to you.
4. Try hands-free privacy controls with the Google Assistant
You can also manage your privacy settings with help from the Assistant. Just say, “Hey Google, delete everything I said to you last week” to delete Assistant activity from your Google Account, or “Hey Google, that wasn’t for you,” to tell the Assistant to forget what it heard if the Assistant responds to something that wasn’t actually a question or request. And to learn how Google keeps your data private and secure, just ask, “Hey Google, how do you keep my data safe?”
5. Browse the web safely with Chrome
Safe Browsing in Chrome automatically protects you from malicious ads and warns you before you visit dangerous sites or download suspicious files. If you use Chrome, your password protections are automatically built-in. We’ll warn you if your username and password have been compromised in a known breach as you log into websites.
6. Check in on your privacy settings across your apps and devices
Data Privacy Day is a great time to check in on your privacy and security settings. Take a Privacy Checkup and we’ll walk you through key privacy settings step-by-step. You can do things like choose what data—such as your location and search history—gets saved to your Google Account or control what ads you see. When you’re finished, head over to Security Checkup for personalized recommendations to help protect your data and devices, like managing which third-party apps have access to your account data.
7. Control what ads you see from Google
We do not sell your personal information to anyone and give you transparency, choice and control over how your information is used. If you’re curious about why you’re seeing an ad, you can click on Why this ad for more information. If you no longer find a specific ad relevant, you can choose to block that ad by using the Mute this ad control. And you can always control the kinds of ads you see, or turn off ads personalization any time in your Ad Settings.
No matter how you use our products, it’s our responsibility to keep your data private and secure. That’s why we work every day to build the best privacy experiences and strongest protections, and we’ll continue our ongoing efforts to make privacy and security simpler for you.
Source: Official Google Webmasters Blog
I try to have Google keep all my data. It seems to be much more reliable when it comes down to me looking for something I did in the past. It’s always nice to have that history, and the passwords saved, and be able to reference a certain day if you need to.
We should do a privacy check-up more often. It ensures a more personalized experience with google across apps like maps & youtube.
The new hands-free privacy controls with Google Assistant are just amazing. It lets me control privacy settings just over my voice command.
Managing privacy with hands-free is a bit new to me. Its is like teaching a baby.
These days google understands English language only or a bit of other languages too!
Who knows, may be someday it will learn the Amazonian languages also!
For me password manager is a savior hence I don’t have to recall my passwords from my memory! It even updates me on the password strength and alerts me on any third-party data breach.
Turning on the automatic delete option is the best way to declutter and move on.
I have been using this feature lately.
Good read!
Personalizing Ad settings in google is a great way to control the Ads we see. It can be personalized at any time across the platforms we want to. Alternatively, we can turn off personalization and revert to generalized settings based on location and site visits.
Turning on the incognito mode works only on the chrome browser. It is still exposed to ISP & site data when logged in. Using a VPN is a safer option when it comes to privacy in my opinion.
GDPR & CGPA gave a strong foundation to the privacy policy update. Many of the world’s emerging economies are developing and implementing laws to protect personal information and impose obligations on parties that collect, hold, and use such information. These laws typically share common themes and principles that collectively embody good data protection practice.
Turning on the incognito mode is good way to distract unwanted ads and internet traffic!
It is like tastings the forbidden fruits without attracting them 😉
I am so upset now that all this data privacy stuff is happening. I had my clients Google Ads bringing in 10 calls per day with remarketing ads. Not that easy anymore due to all these data privacy issues.
I didn’t know until now that google has dedicated a day on data privacy.
Great article!
Turning on the automatically delete option is the best way to declutter and move on.
I have been using this feature lately.
Good read! Thanks Taylor!
For me password manager is a savior!
I think i need to use the password checkup option.
Thanks Taylor!