Google Account Settings

1. Turn off location tracking

There is something deeply disturbing about a third party constantly knowing your location. If you allow a Google app to track your location, that's exactly what you're registering for. Just look at your location data to see how detailed you can paint a portrait when Google activates a toggle switch.

To disable location tracking, disable "Location History". This will also freeze some applications, such as Google Maps, which will no longer allow you to save locations such as Home or Work. This is intentional: Google wants that location data and will do what it can to convince you to deliver it.

1. Sign in to your Google account.

2. Click "Data and Personalization" on the left.

3. Click "Location History" under "Activity Controls".

4. Slide the lever to the off position.

5. Confirm by clicking "Pause" at the bottom of the popup window.

2. Turn off web and app activity

Google carefully monitors what you do in its applications. When the web and app activity toggle is turned on, Google saves all that data to a server. To avoid keeping a detailed journal of your comings and goings, turn off Web and app activity.

1. Sign in to your Google account.

2. Click "Data and Personalization" on the left.

3. Click "Web and Application Activity" under "Activity Controls".

4. Slide the lever to the off position.

5. Confirm by clicking "Pause" at the bottom of the popup window.

3. Activate two-factor authentication (2FA)

1. In the sidebar, click "Security".

2. Click "Two-Step Verification" in the "Sign in to Google" section.

3. Click "Start" to begin the 2FA setup.

4. Enter your phone number, select the communication mode and click "Next" to continue.

5. Enter the code you receive on your phone on the next screen.

6. If the code is correct, click "Activate" to start using 2FA on all future logins.

We recommend against SMS for your 2FA codes. The GSM network is encrypted, but the protocol was not designed for high security. With a SIM swap attack, an attacker can access all of their accounts without a single external sign of trouble. Use Google Authenticator or a password manager to generate 2FA codes on your device. So no one can intercept them.

4. YouTube history

YouTube has its own history settings that you must disable separately from the other web history controls.

1. Sign in to your Google account.

2. Click "Data and Personalization" on the left.

3. Under "Activity Controls", click on the "YouTube History" item.

4. Change the "YouTube History" button to the off position.

5. Click "Pause" in the popup dialog box to confirm.

5. Update email and phone number recovery

It is a good idea to connect one of your other emails to Google as a recovery account. This will allow you to regain access to your account if you cannot log in, either because you forgot your password or because something else went wrong. While this gives Google a little more information about you, it is information of little value.

To add a recovery email, log in to your Google account, then open the email settings. Set a recovery address in the "Recovery email" section.

6. Depersonalize ads

This will not reduce the amount of ads you see, but it will prevent Google from using personalization data to target you more effectively. Remember, the goal of an ad is to separate you from your money - personalized ads are only more effective at your goal. To consent to personalized ads is to consent to manipulation.

1. While connected to your Google account, visit the Ad Settings page.

2. Move the "Personalize Ads" lever to the off position.

3. Click "Deactivate" in the confirmation window.

7. Encrypt your Chrome sync data

When you sign in to Chrome, you share your browsing history with Google. While your data deals are confusing about what exactly they do with this data, it's clear from experience that it is used to sell ads against your browsing habits, either as a whole or in small groups. While this data is anonymous in theory, we only need a small amount of browsing data to connect the browsing history to a real name. It's smart to encrypt your synchronized browsing history using a passphrase or your Google credentials.

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