Access & control activity in your account - Computer (2024)

When you use Google sites, apps, and services, some of your activity is saved in your Google Account. You can find and delete this activity in My Activity, and you can stop saving most activity at any time.

About my activity

My Activity is a central place to view and manage activity such as searches you've done, websites you've visited, and videos you've watched.

How activity works

To personalize your experience, your activity on certain Google services like Search, YouTube, or Chrome, can be saved as data to your account. This activity helps make your experience on Google faster and more useful.

The kinds of activity that show up in My Activity can include associated info like location, and can depend on which Google products you use, and which Activity controls are turned on.

When activity gets saved to your account

Activity is saved when you're signed in to your Google Account.

Your Activity controls control most of the activity that's saved to your account.

Find & view activity

Your activity is listed as individual items, starting with the most recent.

Find activity​

  1. Go to your Google Account.
  2. On the left navigation panel, click Data & privacy.
  3. Under "History settings," click My Activity.
  4. To access your activity:
    • Browse your activity, organized by day and time.
    • To find specific activity, at the top, use the search bar and filters.

Get details about activity

To view details about an item: At the bottom of the item, select Details. You'll find the date and time of the activity and why it was saved. You might also get location, device, and app information.

Delete activity

Learn how to delete past searches, browsing history, and other activity in My Activity. You can also set up automatic deletion for older activity.

Require an extra step to view your full history on My Activity

To strengthen your privacy on shared devices, you can choose to require an extra verification step to view your full history on My Activity.

  1. Go to activity.google.com.
  2. Above your activity, select Manage My Activity Verification.
  3. Turn Extra Verification on or off.

Turn off & delete activity

You can control most of the information in My Activity.

  1. Go to your Google Account.
  2. On the left, click Data & privacy.
  3. Under "History settings," click an activity or history setting you don't want to save.
  4. Under the setting you don’t want to save, select Turn off.
  5. Follow the steps to turn off the setting, or choose toTurn offor Turn off and delete activity.
    • If you choose Turn off and delete activity,follow the steps to select and confirm what activity you want to delete.

Tip: Some activity isn't included in My Activity.

Stop saving activity temporarily

You can search and browse the web privately.

Tip: If you sign in to your Google Account in a private browsing window, your search activity may be stored in that account.

Fix problems

Your activity doesn't show up

If your searches, websites you’ve visited, or other activity don't appear in My Activity, make sure that:

  • You're signed in. Activity is saved only when you're signed in to your Google Account.
  • Your device is online. Any offline activity won't show up in My Activity until your device connects to the Internet.
  • The right settings are turned on. Review your Activity controls to make sure you're saving the kinds of activity you want to.
  • You're signed in to only one account. If multiple accounts are signed in to the same browser or device at the same time, your activity might be saved to the default account.

Note: Some Google services don't support saving activity to your account.

You find activity you don't recognize

You might find these types of unfamiliar activity in My Activity.

Activity from websites & apps that use Google services

Some websites and apps use Google services, like Search, Maps, or Ads. If you visit these websites and apps while signed in to your Google Account, your activity might show up in My Activity. If you use a shared device or sign in with multiple accounts, you may find activity from another signed in account.

Some websites and apps might share certain activity with Google.

Learn more about .

Predicted activity

Sometimes Google predicts what you'd like to view next and serves this content to you.

  • For example, if YouTube autoplay is turned on, My Activity might show videos that were played automatically based on what you've watched.

Other unfamiliar activity

You might find unfamiliar activity if:

  • You’re signed in to multiple accounts on the same browser or device at the same time.
    • Activity from another signed-in account might be saved in My Activity.
  • There’s an activation you didn’t intend and Google Assistant detects it.
  • You didn't sign out of a shared device, like a public computer.
  • Your device is set to a different date and time.
    • Activity from this device might appear with an incorrect date.
  • Someone accessed your account without your permission.

If you think activity on your account was done by someone else, take steps to help keep your account secure.

View other activity

Not all of the data that's saved to your account shows up in My Activity. For example, if you've turned on Location History, that data is saved to your Maps Timeline instead.

To find other kinds of activity that are saved to your account:

  1. Go to your Google Account.
  2. On the left, click Data & privacy.
  3. On the "History settings," click My Activity.
  4. Above your activity, in the search bar, click More Access & control activity in your account - Computer (1) Access & control activity in your account - Computer (2) Other Google Activity.
  5. Below the activity you want to view, select your option.

Learn more about the information we collect and why.

To view and control other account information, open your Google Account.

Need more help?

Try these next steps:

Post to the help community Get answers from community members

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Access & control activity in your account - Computer (2024)

FAQs

Access & control activity in your account - Computer? ›

Go to your Google Account. On the left, click Data & privacy. Under "History settings," click an activity or history setting you want to manage. Turn the activity or history setting on or off.

Where is the activity control on Google my account? ›

Go to your Google Account. On the left, click Data & privacy. Under "History settings," click an activity or history setting you want to manage. Turn the activity or history setting on or off.

What happens if I turn off Web and app activity? ›

Turning off Web & App Activity doesn't affect existing history. It just prevents future activity being saved. Deleting existing is a separate setting.

How do I stop Google from tracking my activity? ›

Turn "Do Not Track" on or off
  1. On your Android device, open Chrome .
  2. To the right of the address bar, tap More. Settings.
  3. Tap Privacy and security.
  4. Tap Send a "Do Not Track" request. Tip: If you are part of the Tracking Protection test group, follow the “Tracking Protection” instructions.
  5. Turn the setting on or off.

How can I see my activity history? ›

Require an extra step to view your full history on My Activity
  1. On your Android phone or tablet, go to myactivity.google.com.
  2. Above your activity, select Manage My Activity Verification.
  3. Turn Extra Verification on or off.

Can anyone see my Google activity? ›

Can anyone see what you search for on Google? If you've wondered “Can anyone see my search history?”, the answer is yes. The search engine itself, your web browser, your internet service provider (ISP), some advertisers, website owners, app owners, and, in some cases, authorities can see what you search for on Google.

Is Google tracking my activity? ›

Google uses personal data from Google Analytics, Global Site Tag, and from their many other trackers and products, so they can target you with advertising and content they think you'll want to see.

Should I turn off Google activity? ›

We suggest disabling this—it seems unlikely that it would improve your Internet experience sufficiently to warrant the privacy intrusion. Audio: You'll also find another checkbox for voice and audio activity, which Google uses to improve its audio capabilities.

Is it good to have web and app activity on? ›

Web & App Activity saves your searches and activity from other Google services in your Google Account. You may get more personalized experiences, like: Faster searches. More helpful apps.

What does deleting web and app activity do? ›

When you choose to delete activity manually or activity is deleted automatically based on your auto-delete setting, we immediately start the process of removing it from the product and our systems. First, we aim to immediately remove it from view and the data may no longer be used to personalize your Google experience.

Am I being watched by Google? ›

Simple: as stated, Google isn't a search company anymore, they're a tracking company. All of these data points allow Google to build a pretty robust profile about you. In some ways, by keeping such close tabs on everything you do, they, at least in some ways, may know you better than you know yourself.

What apps collect the most data? ›

Facebook and Instagram are the two most privacy-invasive apps. Both apps collect all 32 data points defined by Apple and are the only two to do so. All collected data is linked to you, with 7 out of 32 data points used to track you. This includes name, email address, phone number, and physical address.

Can anyone see my Google search history if I delete it? ›

Even after clearing your Google history, your browsing activity could still be saved on your computer. If you don't want anyone who has access to your computer snooping on what you've been browsing, clear your browser history, too.

Does your activity log show everything? ›

Categories of your information in activity log include: Your Posts to review things like photos, videos, text and status updates you've shared on Facebook. Activity You're Tagged In to review things like posts, photos and comments you've been tagged in. Interactions to review things like likes, reactions and comments.

How to check computer activity log? ›

Use Windows Event Viewer to Check Computer Events
  1. Press the Windows key on your keyboard – the Windows symbol is found in the bottom-left corner of most keyboards, between the CTRL and ALT keys.
  2. Type Event – this will highlight Event Viewer in the search box.
  3. Press the Enter key to launch Event Viewer.

Where is my Google activity dashboard? ›

On your computer, open a file in Google Docs, Sheets, or Slides. At the top, click Tools > Activity dashboard.

Where can I see my Google login activity? ›

  1. To see all of the login history of your Google account since it was created, go to your Google Account settings > Security > Manage your account security > Recent security events > See more.
  2. You can filter the results by date or device.
  3. To learn more about a specific login, click on the More details link.
Sep 12, 2023

How do I delete all my Google activity history? ›

Delete all activity
  1. On your Android phone or tablet, go to myactivity.google.com.
  2. Above your activity, tap Delete .
  3. Tap All time.
  4. Tap Next. Delete.

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