What does Google know about me? 10 checks

Google can save account data, activity history, and device information. The records depend on the services you use and your settings. To see the available history, open My Activity and check which account is signed in. Check other data separately: ad settings, devices, app connections, and Maps Timeline.

Data collection is covered in the articles on website tracking and how AI is used for surveillance.

What data Google sees about you

Check each data category separately:

• Search services queries: whether they are saved to your account depends on your history settings.
• YouTube History: watched videos and searches, if you have enabled saving them.
• Maps Timeline: visits and routes when the feature is on. Data is stored on the device; you can choose to create an encrypted backup on Google's servers.
• Device and app usage information: the data depends on the product and settings. This does not mean access to every Android notification.
• Chrome data: saving history and tabs to your account is a separate setting. It does not automatically transfer history from every browser.
• Ad interactions: for example, ad clicks. Available information and its use depend on the service and settings.

How data is linked to your account and device

When you are signed in, activity in supported services may be saved to that account. The use of data across services depends on settings and product features.

Google also describes browser, app, and device identifiers. These differ from a person's name and can be used while signed out. Check saved history, personalization settings, and browser data separately.

Using one account on several devices does not mean every action on each device is saved to it.

Which data is used for personalization

Google describes using activity history for recommendations and ads. For example, searching for running videos may lead to ads for running clothes. This is an example from Google's help documentation, not a result of our testing.

In My Ad Center, you can check the account data, ad categories, and activity settings used for ads. Google lists age, gender, and language among the account details. Available settings depend on the account and whether personalization is enabled.

These details are not a complete description of a person and do not establish that Google has identified their interests correctly.

How this data is used

Google's privacy policy lists providing and improving services, personalization, measuring performance, and protection against abuse among its purposes for processing data.

The company separately states that it does not use Gmail, Google Drive, or Google Photos content to personalize ads. This limits advertising use; it does not promise that content is never processed to operate those services.

To assess your account, check the data categories and available settings. A policy description does not replace an independent check of compliance.

What data remains when you are signed out

Google's policy describes collecting browser, app, and device identifiers, IP addresses, and information about interactions with services. Being signed out does not mean these records are absent.

An IP address can provide an approximate location, but does not by itself establish a home address or person's name. Whether records can be linked depends on available identifiers and other data.

Signing out does not delete history already saved. Use the settings for the relevant account and service to manage it.

How to see what Google already knows about you

Work through ten checks. On account pages, first make sure you have selected the right Google Account. These are actions in official interfaces, not terminal commands. The pages show records and settings available to users, not all of Google's internal data.

1. Open Personal info in your Google Account. Check your name, date of birth, and contact details.
2. Open My Activity. Find a record using search or filters. Open Details to see the available information about that saved activity.
3. On My Activity, select YouTube History → Manage history. Review saved videos and check the settings for saving searches.
4. On Android, open Google Maps → profile picture → Your Timeline. Select a day. Timeline is stored on the device; backups have a separate setting.
5. Open My Ad Center. Check the available categories and data usage settings. Some features may be unavailable if personalization is off.
6. Open the page for Chrome data saved to your account. Review the available information. In Chrome itself, separately check whether history and tabs are saved to the account.
7. Open the devices page for your account. Select a device or session and read its details. Several sessions can belong to one device.
8. Open the third-party connections page. Select an app and check the connection type and granted access. Signing in with Google and permission to read account data are different connection types.
9. Open Google Dashboard. Select a service and review its available data summary. Not every service is included.
10. Open Google Takeout. Select the products you need, continue to the next step, and set up the export. Create an archive if you need a copy. Exporting does not delete the original Google data.

Do not publish the archive or screenshots containing personal data. A missing record on one page does not establish that other services have no data.

What you can do to limit the data

Configure saving new activity, deleting past records, and ad personalization separately. These settings serve different purposes.

How to limit activity saving

1. Open My Activity and select the relevant history type.
2. Read which services the setting covers. Google is gradually introducing Search services history for Search services. If this setting is not available yet, use the available Web & App Activity settings.
3. If you do not want new activity saved in that history, select Turn off and read the confirmation conditions.
4. Check YouTube History separately: the Search history setting does not replace it.

Stopping recording and deleting past activity are separate operations. If Turn off and delete activity is offered, check which data will be deleted before confirming.

How to delete selected records

1. Open My Activity. Find the records by date or product.
2. Delete an individual activity or the matching results. Check the selected period and service before confirming.
3. In the settings for that history type, check whether automatic deletion is available. If it is, select a suitable retention period and confirm.
4. Use your browser's settings separately for browser history. Deleting account records and clearing local history are not equivalent.

Deleting records from My Activity does not delete all Google data. The company describes separate retention periods and purposes for other information, including protection against abuse.

How to check Timeline and ads

For Timeline on Android, open Google Maps → profile picture → Your Timeline. Open the menu for location and privacy settings. Check Timeline's status and available deletion options. Check backups and other devices separately. Even with Timeline off, location information may be saved through other enabled service settings.

For ads, open My Ad Center. To turn personalization off, change its switch and confirm your choice following Google's instructions. Ads will remain, and this switch will not delete your activity history.

What to check after changing settings

After making a change, reopen the selected history type and check the setting's status. After deletion, check that the selected records no longer appear in the relevant interface.

Check each account and service separately. The ad switch, YouTube History, Chrome data, and Maps Timeline have different scopes. None of these pages shows all information held by Google.

FAQ

How can I find out what Google knows about me?

Start with My Activity, Personal info, and My Ad Center. Then check devices, app connections, and the other items above. These are records and settings available to users, not a complete list of Google's internal data.

What are the ten commands for viewing Google data?

This article provides ten checks in official interfaces. No terminal commands are needed. Most checks require selecting an account; Maps Timeline is checked on the device.

How can I see what Google thinks about me?

In My Ad Center, you can view available categories and data used for ads. These depend on settings and are not a reliable description of your personality. Separately check the saved activity that may inform recommendations.