How To Find And Delete Where Google Knows You've Been

Even if “Location History” is off on your phone, Google often still stores your precise location.

Here are some things you can do to delete those markers and keep your location as private as possible. But there’s no panacea, because simply connecting to the internet on any device flags an IP address, a numeric designation that can be geographically mapped. Smartphones also connect to cell towers, so your carrier knows your general location at all times.

TO PREVENT FURTHER TRACKING

For any device:

Fire up your browser and go to myactivity. google.com. Sign into Google if you haven’t already. On the upper left drop-down menu, go to “Activity Controls”. Turn offboth “Web & App Activity” and “Location History”. That should prevent precise location markers from being stored to your Google account.

Google will warn you that some of its services won’t work as well with these settings off. In particular, neither the Google Assistant, a digital concierge, nor the Google Home smart speaker will be particularly useful.

On iOS: