How to keep your searches private 🔐

Wonder Tools — 3 simple ways to keep your Googling to yourself 👀

This holiday week I’m sharing a guest post by JR Raphael about three simple, smart ways to keep your searching private. JR writes an excellent newsletter about all things Android.

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JR: I cover Google pretty closely in my Android Intelligence newsletter. I’m often surprised by how many people think they have to give up their privacy to use Google services. 

It’s easy to benefit from Google's apps while avoiding data collection. Allow me to introduce you to a simple trio of privacy switches — like invisibility cloaks for your online activity.

These work whether you’re on iOS or Android. If you do use Android, stay tuned, 'cause I've got an extra-special collection of powerful privacy-boosters to share with you after this.

1. Keep Your YouTube Searches Secret

I've often searched for a random video on YouTube — an embarrassingly bad 90s pop song or a viral clip — and then had the sinking realization that YouTube would forever more be suggesting similar videos.

If you'd rather not have a search linger on as an eternal influence on your in-app recommendations or around-the-internet ads, here’s what you can do:

• On both Android and iOS, tap your profile picture in the YouTube app's upper-right corner. Then tap "Turn on Incognito" to disconnect your current session from your Google account history.

• That'll prevent anything you do from appearing in your YouTube history. Your video searches won’t affect the videos the service suggests for you or ads you see online.

• The setting lasts until you either become inactive or manually turn it off, by going back into that same profile-picture menu.

Photo by Rachit Tank on Unsplash

2. Camouflage Your Google Maps History

Searching for something in Maps or maybe embarking on a road trip you'd rather not have available for future reference? No problem:

• Tap your profile picture in the Maps app's upper-right corner

• Tap "Turn on Incognito mode" in the menu that comes up

• Once Maps restarts itself, anything you do will remain off the record. It won't appear in your location history, show up as a suggestion, or influence any other type of personalization.

Photo by Edgar on Unsplash

3. Hide Your Google Searches

Opening up an Incognito browser tab keeps browsing private. But lots of us start searches in places other than the browser. Switching to an incognito tab isn't always an option, so here’s a fix.

On Android:

• Open up the Google app on your phone

• Tap your profile picture in the upper-right corner

• Find and tap the line labeled "Delete last 15 minutes"

No matter what you searched or where, that'll remove all activity from the past quarter-hour for you — everything you've typed into the search box on your phone's home screen, pecked out in the search bar within the Google app, or even barked out as an inquiry to Google Assistant.

On iOS:

• Open up the Google app on your favorite iDevice

• Tap the search box toward the top of the screen

• Tap the "Incognito mode" toggle directly above the keyboard

That'll keep any activity from being logged until you turn that same switch back off.

Good to know, right?

Of course, Google's own apps aren't your only option — and if you're using Android, I've got some spectacular off-the-beaten-path tools that'll protect your privacy in all sorts of interesting ways.

Sign up for my free Android Intelligence newsletter, where I share useful tips and tools like these every single Friday. When you get my welcome email, hit reply and let me know you want my Android Privacy App Pack.

I'll write back and send you a special collection of 12 privacy-protecting Android apps most ordinary phone-owning organisms have never even heard of.

Further context

Google never shows your personal data to anyone. This is one of the biggest misconceptions about the company. It uses specific limited tidbits of your activity history to programmatically show you ads related to your interests, but humans absolutely aren't involved in that process — and the info isn't ever sold or shared in any way with anyone.

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Protect yourself online 👇 Wonder Tools guidance

• Guard your email address from spammers and stop sites from tracking you

• Try this surprisingly handy way to protect yourself online.

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Catch up w/ what’s new — 3 recent Wonder Tools posts

• Check out 12 New Ways to Use AI

• See the 7 Most Useful New Features in Canva’s New AI

• Check out the new podcast app I switched to recently

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Back next week with a new original post!
Happy holidays to those celebrating. - Jeremy