Accessing records of the past helps us learn and improve. The same applies to our personal Google search history. It’s nice to revisit a point on a site you previously visited. Plus, Google uses it to serve relevant content in the Discover feed on your Android phone, keeping you informed about things you care about.
Not everything about keeping your Google search history is good. Just as you can use that data to make your life easier, that data is used by companies for various purposes. Some of that usage is for research, and your data is cleared of personal info before being used. However, that isn’t always the case, and it is important to clear out your search history. Aside from privacy concerns, there are other reasons to do so.
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Privacy
Keep your data away from prying eyes
The information in your search history is valuable to you and others. With AI at the forefront of nearly every tech brand, data is increasingly precious. It is the lifeblood of learning models to get smarter and better. Aside from training those models, the data in your Google search history includes information that unscrupulous characters (the bad guys) use to scam you and others.
Regardless of whether you use your smartphone, tablet, Chromebook, or anything else that can search the internet, you leave a digital trail of breadcrumbs. Bits of data are collected into your search history for various purposes. Ideally, that information is only used and accessed for your needs. Still, data is king and vital to brands.
Google makes attempts to secure that data and anonymize it so that information obtained, legally or otherwise, by a third party is free of anything tied to you, but it isn’t perfect. Even after cleaning up the information, there are still tons of data in your search history that can put you at risk of identity theft or embarrassment. Perhaps you searched for things and don’t want that history released to the public or your friends. This is another reason to clear out your Google search history.
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Speed
Get things done quicker
Have you ever noticed that your device slows down after you’ve used it for a while, and that sometimes a simple restart can get it back up to speed? That’s because it resets your system back to a fresh state, clearing out built-up data. Clearing your Google search history has a similar effect on your device, especially on Android devices.
Because our smartphones and tablets are deeply integrated with Google search, the accumulation of data isn’t limited to the Chrome browser. The more we use our devices and search for information throughout the day, weeks, and months, the more bogged down the system gets. This results in a slower and less enjoyable experience when using your device.
When you clear your Google search history, it removes unnecessary tracking cookies and cached data, freeing up resources for more tasks. While the speed of your devices improves, websites you frequently visit may experience a slight slowdown. That’s because the data previously stored in your search history was done, so the site didn’t have to load it every time you visited, thus speeding up the experience. By deleting it, the website will still work fine, but it may take a few extra seconds to load.
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Advertisements
Tracking everything
You know those times when you look something up in search to confirm a thought, check a price, or something else, only to see ads for that exact thing show up seconds later? That’s ad tracking, targeted ads, or whatever spin companies want to put on it. Regardless of the name, it’s tracking. Your Google search history feeds the machine to bring you products and services you showed an interest in.
I’m not always mad about this. Sometimes, knowing what will happen, I use the system to serve me. If I’m in the market for a product in a category and want to find out if there are other products in that category, I search for the one I know of, and soon after, other brands come to me. However, most of the time, it annoys, frustrates, and, to an extent, scares me.
There are options to disable Google Chrome’s targeted ad tracking, and that’s a great first step. However, deleting your Google search history can go further in protecting you from being tracked by various services. Tracking is tracking regardless of the reason. Not all ads you see will be legitimate and safe to click or buy from. While you may be excited to see something you are interested in, it won’t be helpful if the ad you receive is a scam.
Don’t horde your history
Most of us accept a certain level of data collection to serve our personal needs. If I didn’t allow my phone to collect some data, the experience would be terrible. The data is used in many ways on my device to allow it to serve me better. Features like Gmail, Calendar, Tasks, and more are interconnected, making each more personal since they communicate with one another. Still, I’m concerned about where my info goes. Like Google Gemini, this AI model utilizes my data in ways I may not intend, which is why I don’t share my data with it.
Like most things in life, for every upside, there’s a downside. You should protect your digital information like you would a piece of physical mail that contains private information. We shred, burn, or destroy documents with sensitive information. However, when it comes to the same information in digital form, it can slip our minds. If you’re unsure about how to clear it, we have a helpful guide on how to delete your Google search history, so you can keep your information safe.
