About me: Adjust Google privacy settings
The new "About me" sub-page enables you to manage the privacy settings of your Google account more conveniently than ever before. So that nothing goes wrong, we show and explain the most useful and important settings.
Google About me service: Main page in detail
Go to "About me" at aboutme.google.com (see screenshot). This is similar to the old Google+ profile page and will probably replace it in the future.
- Click on the sandwich menu in the top left and select "View Public". So you can see what information about you is shown to a foreign user.
- You can change or delete the specified data using the pencil symbols for the respective info boxes.
- At the bottom you will find the text link "Go to privacy check" or "Go to privacy checkup". In the next few paragraphs, we will clarify which settings are behind this.
1. Adjust Google+ privacy settings
Click on the "Privacy check", you will see the page shown in the picture. We explain below which settings are particularly important. In our gallery we also give you illustrated tips for maximum protection of your privacy.
- "Show these profile tabs to visitors": Here you can select and deselect basic categories. For example, if you tick "YouTube / Videos", information about rated and commented YouTube videos will also be displayed on your profile page. Privacy tip: Remove the ticks here.
- "Google+ Communites": If you activate this, visitors to your page will see the (public) Google+ pages and groups in which you have posted. Privacy tip: Deactivate this option.
- "Photos and Videos": If this is not checked, Google can display public photos of you as a background image to other users - for example on Chromecast. Privacy tip: Be sure to check this box.
- "Social recommendations": Click on the link "Edit settings for social recommendations" and scroll down in the opened window. If this is checked, Google can publicly show your profile picture and your ratings (e.g. for apps in the Play Store) to other users. Privacy tip: Deactivate this option.
2. Personalize Google usage and protect privacy
Click on the blue "Next" button to go to the next category "Personalize Google use". This is where you essentially set which data Google collects about you. Privacy tip: Deactivate all options here so that the pause symbol can be seen everywhere (see screenshot).
- "Web & App Activities": If this service is activated, your search history will be saved in Google apps and browsers. Privacy tip: Click on "Deactivate these cards" in the second line to also switch off the Chrome history for Google Now.
- "Location history": If you activate this, Google will save the places where you are. The data is collected via your Android smartphone or the classic web browser.
- "Device information": Using this function, Google collects a lot of data about you - including which apps you buy, install and use, the appointments in your Android calendar or the contacts saved on your smartphone.
- "Voice & Audio Activities": Use the voice control from Google Now, Google will analyze your voice and your dialect and save information about them - provided you have activated this function.
- "YouTube search history": If this is activated, Google stores your search queries on the video portal YouTube.
- "YouTube playback history": Google uses this to save which videos you watch on YouTube and when.
- Note: For each function, you can select "Manage history" in order to call up already saved data of the category. Privacy tip: Browse all categories here and delete all entries.
3. Privacy settings: Personalized advertising from Google
Then click on "Next" to go to the third and last point of the privacy check: user-related advertising. Google skillfully describes this point as "receiving more relevant advertising".
- If you click on the text link "Manage advertising settings", you will be redirected to a subpage.
- If you have set the switch to "ON" at the top, you can add interests at the top of the screen and thus give Google additional information about you.
- At the bottom left, you can also use the large blue button to set which advertising is displayed to you if you are not logged in with your Google account.
- Privacy tip: Set the switch to "OFF" at the top, confirm with "Deactivate" and select "Customize advertisements that appear when I am logged out". Again, flip the switch to disable personalized advertising and protect your privacy. You must confirm the selection again with "Deactivate".
- Once you have made the settings, you can close the browser tab to return to the privacy check. Click "Next" again to complete the settings.
Latest videos
(1) Show what other users can see about you. (2) Remove all the ticks from the "Profile tabs" so that your Google profile does not reveal anything about you.
(1) Make sure you tick this if you don't want to serve as an advertising figure for Google products. (2) Click on this link, you will get to the ...
... Settings for social recommendations: Remove the check here so that your recommendations cannot be used as advertising for products and services.
If a pause symbol is shown during all activities, your privacy is well protected.
Open the categories and select "View History" to view all the activities saved about you.
If no data is listed here, as in the picture, your privacy is well protected. Otherwise you should select all entries and remove them one after the other.
Click this button to ...
... (1) flip the switch at the top to "OFF" and confirm this with (2) "Deactivate". Then...
... click on this text link and on the next page ...
... set these two switches to "OFF". Voilà! You have made maximum use of your privacy settings.
