A week ago we reported that Google has started allowing all account holders to download their full search history, providing you have it enabled in the first place.

One of the new Google Dashboard options that got overlooked at the time, however, are the options to enable or disable various tracking methods through Google services, which include the places you go, YouTube and Chrome browser related history as well as device related information.

For those interested in updating their tracking preference, the first thing you will need to do is to login to Google’s Web and App Activity page.

The “Remove Items” option lets you delete periods of history tracking from your account, but for the preferences you will need to click on the “Settings” option and toggle which services you want enabled or disabled.

Privacy is a hot topic, and although individual Chrome browser settings lets you enable features like ‘Do not track’ and allows for the local management of browsing history settings, these options do not apply to your online Google account, which you will need to set through the above page.

Should you choose to disable your Search and browser history, you may want to download what is already known about you first – the second option in the aforementioned gears menu. A pop-up window warning you not to download your search history to a public computer will appear, naturally, as it contains a large amount of sensitive information.

Everyone should be proactive about what companies track about your online presence, and hopefully this article will go someways to educating those who have just found out this was even possible.

Source: neowin.net