While Google already allows you to delete your location history information, the process of doing so can be a bit cumbersome since you will need to manually remove all or a portion of that data. On mobile devices, for example, you need to make multiple taps within the settings app before being finally able to wipe your location history clean.
In the near future, the task of trimming down your location and activity data in your Google account will become quite a breeze. The search giant has announced new control options that will allow you to have those types of information deleted after a certain period of time.
You can choose to remove your location history as well as web and app activity according to the desired retention period, either three or 18 months. After that, your older information will continue to be removed on a rolling basis. These new controls will, of course, sit alongside the existing option to retain your data until you choose to delete it manually.
The latest change is part of Google's response to a controversy last year when it was found that it was continuing to track users' location data even after they turned off that feature. The issue prompted Google to modify the language of its policy regarding its location tracking practices.
Google says the new controls will be available first for Google's Location History and Web & App Activity services over the next few weeks. That statement suggests that the feature may also go live in the future for other types of data stored on Google's servers.
9 Comments - Add comment