5 Critical Google Account Settings That Guard Your Privacy [2025]

When you sign up for a Google Account and use Google’s apps and services, you consent to data collection. While most of this data collection is justified, as it helps Google personalize your user experience, it also risks your privacy across much of the internet.

Thankfully, you can adjust some of your Google account settings to stop unwarranted data collection and create a more private experience for yourself online. Let’s go over these settings and see how to change them.

Pause Web & App Activity

By default, Google records all your web searches and activity across different Google apps and services in your Google Account. It then uses this data, like your location, for example, to provide faster search results and offer personalized recommendations across other Google services.

However, if you value privacy over these benefits, you can pause Web & App Activity in your Google Account. This will prevent Google from recording your interactions across its apps and services, so you can use them without worrying about giving away too much data.

To pause Web & App Activity, head to the Google Account page and log in to your account. Select Data & Privacy from the left sidebar. Scroll down to the History Settings section and click Web & App Activity.

On the next page, click the Turn Off drop-down button under Web & App Activity and select Turn Off. You may also choose Turn Off and Delete Activity if you also want to delete previously recorded activity from your Google Account while disabling the feature.

While you’re here, you can check all the previously recorded data across different apps and services. Just click the View All button in the See and Delete Activity section or click on an app or service, and you’ll see all the recorded data.

Disable Search Personalization

Another Google Account setting you must consider turning off is Search Personalization. Leaving it enabled means Google can see all your search data—everything from search history and topics you follow to stuff you like and more—stored in your account to show you personalized stories in Discover, give you film recommendations, and offer auto-complete suggestions.

Disabling Search Personalization is straightforward. Go to the Data and Privacy page and scroll down until you see the Search Personalization card.

Click it and toggle off the icon next to Personalize Search on the following page.

Disable Ad Personalization

Almost all websites on the internet display ads; it’s what allows them to offer services for free. Most of the ads you see are personalized, meaning they’re tailored for you by Google based on various parameters, such as your personal information (age and gender) and your activity across different apps and services on the internet.

If you don’t want Google to use your information and target you with tailored ads, you can turn off Ad Personalization. To do this, go to the Data & Privacy settings page, scroll down to the Personalized Ads section, and click My Ad Center.

Hit the drop-down next to Personalized Ads in the upper-right corner.

Click Turn Off.

Also read: How to Turn Off Alcohol and Gambling Ads on YouTube

Pause Timeline

Google Maps Timeline (previously Location History) stores information about your whereabouts, such as the places you visit and the routes you take to get there. That way, you can go back in time and revisit your previous travels.

However, Google also uses this data to simultaneously build a detailed map of your daily movements on all your devices, enabling it to give you relevant recommendations in Maps and other Google services. If this concerns you, you can pause your Timeline to stop Google from tracking you.

Timeline is disabled by default, so unless you’ve enabled it manually at some point, you don’t need to bother turning it off. You can verify whether it’s turned off (and turn it off if it isn’t) like this: Select Data and Privacy on the Google Account page. Scroll down to the History Settings section and click Timeline.

Here, make sure the text below Timeline reads Off. If it doesn’t, click the Turn Off drop-down next to it and select Turn Off. Choose Turn Off and Delete Activity to disable the feature and delete your previous travel data from your Google Account.

Revoke Account Access For Unused Third-Party Apps and Services

Many websites allow you to sign in and use their services using your Google Account. While this saves you the hassle of setting up a new account, it gives these apps and services access to some of the data associated with your Google Account.

As such, you should review your connections regularly and revoke your Google Account access for those you no longer use or need. To do this, scroll down the Data & Privacy page until you find the Apps and Services section. Click on Third-Party Apps and Services.  

You’ll see all the apps and services you’re currently sharing your Google Account data with. Use the filters under Filter By to filter the results.

Click on an app or service and click Delete All Connections That You Have With X, where X is the name of the app or service. Hit Confirm in the confirmation prompt to confirm deleting the connection.

Alternatively, click the See Details button for more details about the connection. Then, click Stop Using Sign in With Google and hit Confirm in the confirmation prompt to confirm the action. You can also remove third-party access to your Google Account on your mobile phone.

Spare a Few Minutes to Take Control of Your Data with These Google Account Settings

Those are all the essential settings you must change on your Google Account to enhance your privacy. Sure, doing so will result in a less personalized experience on the internet, but that’s a compromise you’ve to make if you value your privacy above everything else. So go ahead, spare a few minutes, and take control of your data.

Besides making those changes, you may even go one step further and turn off the YouTube History setting and stop sharing your health and fitness data with Google. However, this would significantly hamper your experience on YouTube and Fitbit (or Google Fit), respectively, so be mindful of that before you proceed.

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