How to configure privacy options in Google? step by step guide

Currently, Google goes beyond a simple search engine and, thanks to its remarkable expansion, at this time it is considered a complete ecosystem. Since, it provides numerous online services to a large number of users all over the world. world. Therefore, through its different web properties and connections to applications, Google may know more about you than any other entity on Earth.

In this sense, although it is recognized for promoting solid security in its software to provide a reliable experience, the truth is that Google it has also gained fame for not respecting the privacy of users. This, because, it suits you collect data about your customers and use it for your advertising.

However, despite such a notorious feature, certainly the online search giant also provides various security options with the aim that its users can adjust and control, according to your requirements. But since many do not know how to manage them properly, In this post we will present this information in detail..

What are the main privacy risks of my Google account?

It is no secret to anyone that, with the transformation of the way in which people interact on the network and the way in which information is shared, today, the expectation of privacy of Internet users’ data has been modified. In that sense, although Google states that it uses your personal information to improve the experience, the truth is that also uses such data for advertising purposes. It is because of that, there are different privacy risks for all those people who have a Google account.

To learn more about this relevant topic, we proceed to mention each of the privacy threats that are obtained from a Google account:

• Your information in the hands of third parties: For advertising purposes, Google may use your personal information and share it with third parties so that they offer their products or services based on your movements on the network. So, if that data is used by cybercriminals, there may be a huge crack in your privacy.
• Your private data appears in the search engine: When a user, with an account of Google, do a search on the browser; the robots order the information and present the most relevant. But, by agglomerating all this data, those same robots will be able to index the private information of the user in question and during this process, there are risks that they provide said data through the search engine. Which, would infringe on your privacy globally.
• Your behavior on the front page for Google: Once you start your user experience from a Google account, the search engine will proceed to save all the websites you have visitedthe content you have consulted, the ads you have seen, your IP addresses and interesting facts about cookies. Which, noticeably decreases a person’s privacy.

What apps and services use my Google account?

Since, the different services and applications of this ecosystem are deeply connected with each other and with the account of Google, there are several utilities that can access your personal data through said account.

With respect to these applications or services, we point out that they are the following:

• Google Chrome.
• Gmail.
• Google Calendar.
• Google Drive.
• Google Docs.
• Google Voice.
• Google Maps.
• Youtube.
• Photos of Google.
• Chrome YOU.
• Android.

In addition to these, it is also likely that use your Google account to sign in or sign in to other web services, in a simpler way. Therefore, there is a great possibility that some third-party services acquire the keys of your other accounts having access to your Google account.

Learn step by step how to configure your Google account to improve your privacy

To manage, in a more pertinent way, your account Google and to be able to obtain greater privacy when starting a user experience, it is valuable to know each step to follow to carry out an optimal configuration of your account.

For which, we recommend you do the following:

Manage your personal information

In order to access the configuration of Google, from any website in this ecosystem (Gmail, Chrome, Drive, etc.), click on your profile picture located in the upper right corner of the panel and choose the option “Manage your Google account”. Next, go to the menu seen on the left sidebar and select the category that says “Personal information”.

From there, make the following relevance adjustments:

• In the section Profile, click “Password” and change your password to one that is more secure. For this, it is recommended that you choose enter about 20 characters with a combination of lowercase, uppercase, numbers, and special digits.
• In the Profile section, choose “Date of birth” and in the part that says “Who can see your date of birth”, click on “Only you”. Then press the button “Save”. With this, you will obtain greater protection of your personal data.
• At the bottom, select the option that says “Go to About me” to be able to edit your information so that show as little data as possible that reveals your identity. For example, do not use a profile picture, do not indicate your year of birth, do not add more than one email address, etc.

Optimize your “Data and personalization”

Enter the window setting of Google, Choose “Manage your Google account” and in the list of options, click on “Data and personalization”.

After that, adjust the following:

• from the section Controls of your account activitychoose “Activity on the web and in applications” then press on “See all activity controls”. There, you have to start toggle all items to “Off” (with each option’s switch) to make sure you limit the amount of information that Google stores about you.
• Through the section Activity and timelineclick on “My Activity”. Once said window opens, go to the search bar and press the options icon to press on “Delete activity by”. So, start choosing when you want it to be deleted. It is recommended that choose the option “Forever”.
• through section Activity and timelineselect the option “Chronology”. Subsequently, press the gear icon located at the bottom of the map and, within the menu, choose “Automatically delete location history”.
• In the section Ad personalizationclick on where it says “Go to ad settings”. Then, by means of the switch that is observed, proceed to disable ad personalizationso you can restrict the amount of data that Google uses and stores about you.
• Through the section Download, delete or create a plan for dataclick “Delete a service or the account”. Then you have to choose the option “Delete a Google service” to delete all those utilities that you no longer require.

Improve the security of your Google account

As in the techniques explained above, you should also start by accessing the configuration of your Google account. When you are in that section, you have to click on the “Security” option which is on the left side list.

From this section, proceed to optimize the following aspects:

• If you find, first, the section that indicates “Security issues have been detected”click on “Protect the account”. Thus, several solutions will be shown that you have to manage, according to your preferences and interests in order to minimize these breakdowns.
• through section Sign in to GoogleChoose “Two-Step Verification” and activate this function. Once you access this window, they will ask for your account password and then you can check or change your phone number Alreadyadd more second steps to verify identity. Considering that, it is advised to use the Authenticator application for more security.
• Through the section Sign in to other websitesclick “Password Manager”. Next, from the section password reviewclick on “Go to password check” and when the system completes the process, you will be able to check if there are any compromised passwords, which ones have been reused and which are unsafe, in order to optimize them.

Check that everything is ok regarding contacts and information shared

Directly from any service Google, Go to your account settings Google. Next, from the list of options, proceed to click on “Contacts and shared information” and manages the most important aspects to acquire excellent security.

Some of them are:

• Through the section share locationlook for the option “Manage location sharing settings” and click on it. Now, proceed to adjust your desired settings when sharing your location through mobile devicesaccording to your needs.
• In the section Share recommendations in adsyou have to click on “Manage shared recommendations”. Then at the bottom, untick the box that stipulates this: “Based on my activity, Google may show my profile name, profile photo, and activity in shared recommendations in ads.”

Manage payments and subscriptions

Once you access the configuration window of your account Google, correctly, select the option that says “Payments and subscriptions”.

From this point, you can improve the following aspects:

• starting section Payment methodsclick on the bar that says “Manage payment methods”. After the system loads the corresponding information, proceed to delete any payment method that you do not want to have in your account. Google, for added security. This, with only click “Delete” inside the corresponding box.
• In the same way, Google it allows you manage your purchases, subscriptions and reverses, depending on your requirements. Keep in mind that, under any circumstances, it is always more important ensure optimal confidentiality around your personal data.

Access the Control Panel to manage the data of your Google account

Fortunately, Google allows you to easily consult, manage and optimize all the data of your account through the Control Panel. Which, you can find from The next Url address. Once you enter it, the system provides you with a great summary of all the Google products you use, through your account and, in addition, the data that these include.

You can also check your activity Google during the last month, check how many emails, photos and documents you have, even quickly access linked product settings from the Help Center, if needed. Apart from that, from Google Dashboardyou have the possibility to control your data in different ways: Doing a security review, inspecting your privacy, monitoring your account activity and downloading your data.

Examine what information Google uses to show you personalized ads

You can also control what data Google uses to personalize the ads it presents to you during your experience and thus, you will get better privacy. To be able to do it, first of all, you need to access the ad settings from the following address: “https://adssettings.google.com/authenticated?hl=es”.

From there, you’ll be able to manage the information you’ve added to your account, like, know what the system has assumed about your interests based on your movements on the network. In addition, you can also check the interactions of other advertisers who collaborate with Google in terms of advertising.

For its part, it is appropriate to point out that, if you opt for enable Google ads personalizationyou can select and provide any type of information for it (sex, age, tastes, previous interactions with an advertiser or inferred interests) in order to, control the sensitive information they can handle about you. In addition to this, whenever you want, you can disable personalized ads completely.