Google tightens control over user data: separate search history and personalization settings to appear

Google has begun rolling out new privacy settings for its search services and the Google Play app store. The company is moving away from its previous approach, where the management of activity history and personalization was primarily centralized under the Web & App Activity section, shifting instead toward a more granular data control system.

Users will learn about the upcoming changes from an email titled "New privacy settings for search services." Over the next few days, these new parameters will begin appearing in Google accounts worldwide.

Search history and personalization become independent settings

One of the main changes will be the separation of data storage from its use for personalization. Previously, activity history and recommendations were tightly linked through Web & App Activity; now, users will be able to manage these features independently.

Two new settings will appear for Google search services: Search Services History and Personalized Recommendations. The former is responsible for saving user activity, while the latter controls the use of this data to shape a personalized experience.

This update will affect an entire suite of Google services, including Search, Maps, News, Translate, Shopping, Flights, and Hotels.

According to the company, this new structure is designed to make personal data management more understandable and transparent.

What Search Services History will save

The new Search Services History will store data regarding user interactions with Google products. This can include search queries, actions in Google Maps, activity in Google News, usage of Google Translate, as well as interactions related to Shopping, Flights, and Hotels.

Google explains that saving this information allows users to return to previously found materials more quickly and enables modern interactive search features.

However, the most notable addition is the introduction of a standalone feature called Save Media.

Google will start saving media files from search interactions

As multimodal search evolves, users increasingly interact with Google services using more than just text. Today, people can search for information using photos via Google Lens, submit voice queries, or converse with the search engine in new interactive modes.

To support these scenarios, Google will begin saving media files associated with search activity. This includes images, audio recordings, video materials, and other files that users utilize while working with search services.

The company explains that this will make it possible, for instance, to return to a previously executed visual search via Lens or continue a voice interaction with the search engine based on a prior query.

Google emphasizes that saved media files are protected by the same privacy and security mechanisms applied to the rest of the activity history.

Data will be used to develop services and AI

At the same time, the company explicitly states that the saved materials are not intended solely for user convenience.

Like other activity history, media files may be used to improve Google products, develop technological solutions, enhance security systems, and train artificial intelligence models.

In effect, this represents an expansion of the dataset the company can leverage to advance its services in the era of generative AI and multimodal search.

New features will be enabled automatically for some users

Users who already have the Web & App Activity setting enabled should pay close attention.

Following the transition to the new system, Search Services History will be turned on automatically. Along with it, the Save Media feature—responsible for saving images, audio, and other files from search interactions—will also be activated.

Nevertheless, Google emphasizes that users can disable the storage of media files at any time, delete individual items from their history, or completely clear their accumulated data.

Separate settings will also appear in Google Play

Google is introducing a similar approach to the Google Play app store.

New parameters will appear here: Play History and Personalization in Play. They will function independently of one another, allowing separate control over activity tracking and data utilization for recommendations.

Interestingly, these new settings will appear even in the accounts of users who rarely use Google Play.

Meanwhile, existing data deletion preferences will remain intact. If a user previously configured their activity to clear automatically after a certain period, those preferences will carry over to the new sections. History can still be viewed, manually deleted, or set to auto-delete.

More flexible control, but also more data collected

From a privacy perspective, these changes are a double-edged sword.

On one hand, users gain more flexible tools to manage their data. Instead of a single master switch, separate settings are introduced for history storage and personalization across both search services and Google Play.

On the other hand, Google is officially expanding the scope of information that can be stored in an account. While the primary focus was previously on text queries and app activity, the history can now capture images, audio recordings, videos, and other media files used while interacting with the company's services.

This is why, once the new settings appear in an account, it is highly recommended to carefully review their parameters—especially if the Web & App Activity feature was already enabled.

In brief

Google is executing one of its largest user data management overhauls in recent times. The company is splitting history storage and personalization into separate settings for search services and Google Play, giving users more granular control over their activity.

Simultaneously, Google is beginning to save media files used during search interactions, including images, audio, and video. This data can be utilized not only to restore interaction history but also to refine the company's services, security systems, and AI models.

While the new tools offer users more ways to manage their privacy, certain features may be activated automatically after the transition. Therefore, Google recommends reviewing the new parameters as soon as they become available in your account.