Google is Now Letting its Users Password Protect Their Search History
A new article on Search Engine Journal reports that Google now lets users password protect the page that contains their web search history and activity on Google Maps.
Google is now letting users password protect the Web & App Activity page, which contains histories of web searches and Google Maps usage. A password can prevent a user's activity from being easily accessed by other people who use the same device they're logged into. The Web & App Activity page holds a wealth of private data. In addition to activity in Search and Maps, it tracks YouTube watch history, Google Assistant queries, Google Play usage, and more.
All this data is occasionally helpful for users to look back on when trying to retrace how they found something, but - perhaps not surprisingly - the primary reason Google tracks it is to serve personalized ads and search results. Now, for the first time, users can prevent the data from getting viewed by people who shouldn't be seeing it. Before this move, all anyone would have to do to view someone's search history is pick up their phone or laptop and type activity.google.com into the address bar.
With the new verification option, users can set a password that will have to be entered before anyone can view the Web & App Activity page. Here's how to turn on verification:
Google is now letting users password protect the Web & App Activity page, which contains histories of web searches and Google Maps usage. A password can prevent a user's activity from being easily accessed by other people who use the same device they're logged into. The Web & App Activity page holds a wealth of private data. In addition to activity in Search and Maps, it tracks YouTube watch history, Google Assistant queries, Google Play usage, and more.
All this data is occasionally helpful for users to look back on when trying to retrace how they found something, but - perhaps not surprisingly - the primary reason Google tracks it is to serve personalized ads and search results. Now, for the first time, users can prevent the data from getting viewed by people who shouldn't be seeing it. Before this move, all anyone would have to do to view someone's search history is pick up their phone or laptop and type activity.google.com into the address bar.
With the new verification option, users can set a password that will have to be entered before anyone can view the Web & App Activity page. Here's how to turn on verification:
- Log into your Google account
- Navigate to activity.google.com
- Click Manage My Activity verification
- Click Require Extra Verification
- Click Save
- Enter your password to confirm your identity
- When you have successfully protected your activity page, you will see a Verify button in place of your history.
