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Google will soon let you auto-delete your location tracking data

Google will soon let you auto-delete your location tracking data

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Delete your data automatically after three or 18 months

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A Google logo sits at the center of ominous concentric circles
Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge

Google is introducing a new feature for your Google account that will allow you to automatically delete your Location History and Web and App Activity data after a set period of time. You’ll be able to delete the data after either three or 18 months, and it will then continue to be deleted on a rolling basis over time.

The search giant’s location tracking practices got it into trouble last year when it emerged that Google would continue to track you even when you turn off the Location History setting. In order to entirely stop your location from being tracked, you need to dig through your settings to also turn off the “Web and App Activity” setting. The feature being announced today deletes data for both, meaning that it should cover every bit of the location history data Google holds on you.

You can have Google delete your data after either three or 18 months.
You can have Google delete your data after either three or 18 months.
Image: Google

Google says it’s rolling out the new feature worldwide “in the coming weeks” and that it will be available in addition to the existing options that allow you to delete this data manually. The company also mentions that Location History and Web and App Activity data are the first two bits of user data the feature will be available for, suggesting that the option might soon be available for more of your data.