Google improves the privacy of users and will release a new tool that will allow you to manually delete data collected from the Mountain View apps.

Google knows you perfectly. It knows everything about you, more than you think: from your interests, to your buying habits, to your movements. Personal information is accumulated gradually, from the first search made with the Google account. But how does the system control its users?

This was revealed by the head of the Associated Press, which published a detailed report on all the apps used by Google to follow people. Some of them even work without explicit authorization, others instead inform the user but without asking back for any release. Google apps that track the user are many: from those apparently harmless as the search engine on Chrome, to Google Maps, Google Location Services or even the tool Find My Device, useful to find an Android device in case of loss. Fortunately, a tool will soon be launched that will cancel your movements on Google.

Google: the tool to eliminate activities and movements arrives

Many users, and consumer associations, have complained about Google’s intrusiveness. As a result, to protect people’s privacy, the company is about to launch a tool that cancels travel tracking. This feature will be available on both mobile and fixed devices. On smartphones and tablets, all you have to do is log in to the service provider Google and click on the icon representing a clock. The same path will be active from Chrome browser, after logging into your account.

Within this section you can choose between three different options: delete all data on movements and activities on Google for three or eighteen months or, alternatively, delete the movements manually. From this section you can then reset, not only the movements, but all the activities carried out: from online searches, up to those on Maps or Google Play.

Google recommends not to cancel the movements: that’s why

The company’s spokesmen, Marlo McGriff and David Monsees, in a post on the official blog have warned users against total cancellation: delete the history of activities and movements will eliminate all kinds of customizations of Google services. They will therefore be potentially uninteresting. For example, local searches will be completely anonymous, and not based on user movements and preferences.

Google and new tools to protect users’ privacy

In addition, in recent months Google has implemented the security levels of all its applications and services. For example, it has renewed the Security Control Center by including “custom directions” that are built on the basis of individual accounts, as well as activating a prevention against phishing in Chrome.

At the end of 2018, the company stated that it would start activating security alerts for G Suite administrators, especially if considered unsafe. Finally, it recently introduced a series of checks on personal data, including a new feature to view and delete data directly from Google’s search.