Google is much more than an information search site on the internet, it is also the company that owns some of the most used IT, web and technology products such as, for example: Gmail, Google Maps, Youtube, Chrome, Android, only for mention a few. From the use of these and other services and products, Google collects personal data about each of us . Most of this information is private and can be used in a useful way to have a record of events such as, for example, searches made on the internet, videos seen or places we have been. You can be truly amazed to find out how many things Google knows about us, how much data it has stored and how much strictly personal information can be read by outsiders if they had access to our Google account.
First of all then it is necessary, do the security check of the Google account by checking the password and the recovery methods.
Below, however, we see all the sites and web pages, often very hidden or difficult to find, in which to read the data collected by Google about us, to be able to delete them or to use them when necessary . For each of these pages, given the importance of the data they collect, it will be necessary to re-enter the password of your account.
1) Google Dashboard
The Google Dashboard of which we have already spoken, is the page from which you can manage all the settings of the Google account.
From here you can also view the data generated by the activities on various Google services such as Gmail, Chrome, YouTube and search. There is therefore a summary on the level of use for each product from Google.
2) Passwords saved
The page of passwords saved by Google, of which I have already spoken, is the tool to view usernames and passwords stored when using Chrome on PC and on Android. These credentials are saved in an encrypted way and synchronized in order to remain accessible through all the computers or mobile devices in which the account is used.
3) Web and App Activities (formerly Web History )
The Google history page is the list of words searched on the search engine and on the sites visited using Chrome or other Google apps. As seen already in a specific guide, this collection of very personal information can be deactivated or canceled.
4) Voice and audio activity
Inside the web and app activity history there is this section that deals with voice searches using the smartphone or using Chrome on PC. Google Assistant voice commands on Google Home are also included. This data can be deleted or their collection can be deactivated from this link.
5) Device information
This page allows you to view the background activities that Google does on our Android smartphones and tablets associated with our account. It tells us when the address book is saved, when the list of installed apps is updated and when other information and application data, the system status and other data of our devices are updated that Google saves on its servers.
This data is useful to be stored by Google because so, if you buy a new smartphone, they are automatically synchronized.
6) YouTube video history and searches .
YouTube Watch History lists all the videos we have seen on YouTube when we are connected with the Google Account.
YouTube Search History lists all searches done on Youtube. You can delete the history item by item or in whole at once or you can also pause it to disable it.
7) Location history
This is one of the most controversial features of Google Maps which is capable, on Android devices, of saving every place we are in by creating a true location history. This feature can be interesting for storing statistics on your movements, but it is also used by Google to show us personalized advertisements.
We talked about this in another article, about how to manage your Google Maps location history and how to disable it.
8) Ad settings
The advertising management page allows you to choose whether or not to activate personalized ads based on what Google knows about us.
9) App permissions connected
This is a very important page to check to deny permission to use our Google account given to devices and applications that are not owned by Google. It shows a list of mobile apps and games apps, web apps and websites, browser extensions and Google scripts, used smartphones and tablets. You can revoke access to your account if you no longer use it or if you don't remember what it was.
10) Recent devices
The account activity page shows the list of computers and devices used by entering the password for our Google account.
It allows you to view all the devices that have been used in the past 28 days and those currently connected to your account. If there was unrecognized access, remove it from here and change the account password immediately.
11) Purchase history made on the internet
All purchases and reservations made online are saved by Google by extracting the data from Gmail emails, in a special page.
In addition to these pages, it is also worth mentioning the existence of two tools that Google makes available to manage the data saved in the various services and products.
First of all, with Google TakeOut, you can download all the data stored by Google, including also the Gmail emails and the uploaded Youtube videos.
You can also manage who to give the account to in the event of death, with the inactive Google or Gmail account settings .
READ ALSO: Google account privacy control, searches and personal data
