If you use Google as a search engine and for other things, a lot of your data is stored.

Our cooperation partner checked4you will show you what these are and how you can delete them.

It starts with the smartphone: If you have one with Android, you also need a Google account. Otherwise there are no apps from the store and many other things don't work at all.

This means that Google already has initial information: namely, which device you use to use the search engine giant's services. From this device, Google can now save which places you visit, which terms you search for, what you say near your phone and which devices and apps can access your Google account.

You can see all of this at https://myaccount.google.com . Here you log in and can make various settings, some of which we show in the picture gallery.

If you don't have a Google account, you can still set up a few things. You can read more about this in the picture gallery.

Overview

These images are screenshots of the desktop view. You can also make all settings on your cell phone by simply tapping on the links in the image explanations.

Let's start at myaccount.google.com . Here you can see and change your personal information. No matter where you click on it, the other menu items will always be displayed on the left, one below the other.

Screenshot by checked4you
Screenshot by checked4you

Security

use the menu item “ Login and Security ” to set a security question and an answer. If you ever forget your password, you will need it. You will also find the points for managing registered devices and apps here - more on this in the following images.

Screenshot by checked4you
Screenshot by checked4you

Device activities

The “ Device Activities & Notifications found as a subsection of “ Login and Security Here you can see, among other things, which devices your Google account is active on. By clicking on “Check devices”…

Screenshot by checked4you
Screenshot by checked4you

Remove devices

...you get to the list of all recently used devices . If a device appears that you don't recognize, you can click on it and remove it using a red button. Logically, the button is not displayed on the device you are currently using to check your Google account.

If you have found an unknown device, you should also change your password Protect your account

Screenshot by checked4you
Screenshot by checked4you

Manage apps

Connected apps and websites item Manage apps link to see which applications and websites you have already allowed access to your Google account. This can be the case if you log in somewhere with your Google account and use your data as a login for other sites or programs. If you see services in the list that you no longer need, click on them and remove them!

Screenshot by checked4you
Screenshot by checked4you

privacy

This point mainly contains your email address, telephone number and the settings on Google+ . Take a look, even if you think you don't have a profile on Google+ - with a Google account you definitely have one, even if there may not be much in it... We'll skip the “Privacy Check” and “My Activities” tools at this point so that it doesn't get too confusing. They summarize individual points that can also be used to access other paths. You can see these other ways here in our picture gallery.

Screenshot by checked4you
Screenshot by checked4you

What Google has stored about you

In Google Activity Management, you can see everything you've done on Google services - for example, what YouTube videos you've watched, what you've searched for on the Internet, what voice commands your Android phone has recorded, and so on further. To do this, click on “View my activities” .

Screenshot by checked4you
Screenshot by checked4you

If you don't want Google to save anything else

In the activity settings you can prohibit Google from saving your search words and your locations, among other things. The settings apply to all of your devices on which you use your Google account (including Android smartphones and tablets). Google can still determine your location if you allow this on the individual devices (e.g. to locate your cell phone ), but apparently does not store it.

The same applies to recordings made by the Google app on your Android devices. You can switch off the saving of such recordings in the “Voice & Audio Activities” box.

Screenshot by checked4you
Screenshot by checked4you

Advertising settings

Do you want to see advertising for cosmetics on some website because you recently found out about pimples? Or should the advertising be something that has little to do with your current life? You can set this in the advertising settings . However, this setting only applies to devices on which you use Google while logged in (i.e. on Android devices with a Google account or a computer after you have logged in to Google).

Screenshot by checked4you
Screenshot by checked4you

Takeout and estate administration

With Takeout you can download and save all the data that Google has stored about you. You can decide which files to save and whether you want to store them on a device or in Google Cloud Drive. You can access Takeout via the “Create archive” link in the “Control content” .

And even though you certainly shouldn't think about death as a teenager, it can't hurt to decide what should happen to your Google account and all the data collected in it if it hasn't been used for a long time. This can be done via the Account Inactivity Manager .

Screenshot by checked4you
Screenshot by checked4you

Account overview + dashboard

There is also the “ Google Dashboard ”. After logging in again, you will receive an overview of various Google applications as well as access to their administration.

Screenshot by checked4you
Screenshot by checked4you

Delete applications and account

Finally, in the “Account Settings” area, there is the “ Delete account or services ” item. Here you can use “Delete products” to kill individual Google applications or your profile on Google+. Or you can delete everything from yourself. However, this leads to problems again with Android smartphones.

Screenshot by checked4you
Screenshot by checked4you

If you occasionally use Google Search on a computer or other device where you don't log in with your Google account, the search engine also collects data about your search behavior there. This is made possible, among other things, by so-called cookies that are set in the browser. If you use the browser's private mode, this doesn't work. On this Google page you can set what type of advertising you want to see when you surf on Google and other websites.

If you do not want to see advertising on your smartphone that is selected based on your activities, you should deactivate app tracking (or add tracking) .

If you don't want Google to save everything about you, set your browser so that it deletes cookies every time you close it ( videos from the North Rhine-Westphalia Consumer Center ), surf in private mode or search with others every now and then Search engines like Bing or Yahoo . There are also search engines that say they do not collect data - DuckDuckGo and Ixquick , for example.


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Notes:
1) This content reflects the current state of affairs at the time of publication. The reproduction of individual images, screenshots, embeds or video sequences serves to discuss the topic. 2) Individual contributions were created through the use of machine assistance and were carefully checked by the Mimikama editorial team before publication. ( Reason )