It’s no secret anymore. Nearly every thing you do online is tracked or recorded and used to learn more about you.
A lot of your data points finally ends up on creepy people search sites. You’ll be shocked to search out your full name, address, relatives, phone number, and more. Here’s an inventory of websites where you’ll be able to opt out of this invasion of privacy.
In your phone, apps are likely watching — and reporting — greater than you realize. Take back control with just just a few minutes in your settings.
Navigation apps use your phone’s GPS location to find out exactly where you might be. Each time you navigate somewhere, that location is stored in your profile. Prepared to be shocked at what Apple and Google learn about your wanderings.
Google saves where you might have been
You almost certainly expect that your maps app is keeping track, but have you ever ever looked back to see all this tracking in motion?
In the event you’ve used Google Maps for years, there’s probably a startling amount of information about in all places you’ve gone. Test it out:
- When signed in, click in your profile picture, then select Manage your Google Account. Or go to your Google Account page.
- On the left, click on Data & privacy.
- Under “History Settings,” click on Location History.
- At the underside, click Manage history.
You’ll see a map with details like your saved home, work locations, and trips. You may search by 12 months or all the way down to a particular day within the Timeline box in the highest left corner.
Kim Komando
Sound like a tech pro, even in case you’re not! Award-winning popular host Kim Komando is your secret weapon. Listen on 425+ radio stations or get the podcast. And join over 400,000 individuals who get her free 5-minute every day email newsletter.
Pick a date from a few years ago only for fun. You’ll see a blue bar if a visit was recorded. Click a day to see in all places you went, all the way down to the time and mileage. In case your photos are synced to your account, you’ll be able to see any pics you took at your destination, home, or anywhere else you went that day. You can disable that.
Stop Google in its tracks
Possibly you enjoyed the walk down memory lane. Or perhaps it gave you the creeps. You may adjust your settings to stop Google from tracking all of your trips.
- Return to your Google Account page.
- On the left, click on Data & privacy.
- Under “History Settings,” select Location History. Click Turn off.
Note: Google saves where you go even if you aren’t using a particular Google service. Which means you don’t even must have Maps energetic so long as you’ve OK’d location reporting.
Switching this off stops tracking in the long run, but it is going to retain a duplicate of your history.
- To completely delete your location history data, click on the Auto-delete option.
- You may decide to auto-delete the info older than three months, older than 18 months or older than 36 months. You may manually delete anything before that.
In the event you turn tracking off, Google warns you might not see recommendations based in your history or trips for things like making your commute easier. Your location should be saved if you use other Google services.
Apple Maps is watching you
Like Google, recent destinations are saved within the Apple Maps app, making them easy to search out later. Places like your house, work, and favorite coffee shop could also be saved to your favorites.
In the event you need a clean slate, grab your iPhone or iPad.
(You have got to do each entry individually out of your phone, so it’ll take a while. Pro Tip: Doing it on a Mac connected to the identical Apple ID is quicker. More on that below.)
- Open Apple Maps. Scroll down until you see the Recents section.
- Swipe the route you would like to delete from Apple Maps to the left until you see Delete.
- Tap Delete.
- If you would like to remove a Favorite location, scroll to the Favorites section, then tap More. Swipe left on the Favorite location you would like to delete, then tap Delete.
No time for that? Here’s how one can do the job on a Mac.
- Open the Apple Maps app. Scroll to Recents within the sidebar.
- Below Recents, click Clear Recents.
- Wish to remove a Favorite location? Press Cmd + click a location (within the sidebar below Favorites), then select Remove from Favorites.
Your location is used for all varieties of things in your iPhone, including Find My. I keep this on because I need to trace down my phone if it’s ever lost.
You may, nonetheless, stop sharing your location with all apps and services in case you’d like. That features Apple Maps.
- Go to Settings > Privacy > Location Services.
- Turn off location sharing.
