The Ultimate Guide to Google Privacy Policy settings

When you use Google Search, do you notice the privacy reminder? Do you ever wonder what it is about? Many of our customers have asked us what they should do when they see the reminder and many have clicked on “I AGREE” without knowing the consequences. We decided to publish this guide to demystify the subject and to show you what to do when you see the reminder again. So here it is… the ultimate guide to Google Privacy Policy settings.

So what is this Google Privacy Policy reminder about?

Google is great. It is one of the coolest companies in the digital age. It provides many amazing services that we take for granted. And the best thing is, it’s free! To name a few: Google Search, Gmail, Google Maps, Google Photos and many more. Since these services are free, how does Google make money? It can’t just make money out of thin air right? In fact, the majority of Google’s revenue comes from advertising and they have done pretty well – $67 billion USD in 2015.

To improve their service and advertising effectiveness, Google actively collects information about you whenever you use a service from Google or its affiliates. The information will be used for recommendation, advertising and 3^rd party advertising purpose.

Sounds scary, isn’t it? The good news is that you have some control on this. How much you want to allow depends on your personal preferences. So how do I stop Google from using the information they have collected about me for recommendation, advertising and 3^rd party advertising purpose?

The step-by-step guide.

There are 23 steps in 6 parts. The number of steps might sound daunting, but it is actually very simple. You just need to go into some options and turn a few things off in 3 key areas. Simple! Here is how to do it.

Part 1 - Get started

1) When you go to Google and see the privacy reminder, click "REVIEW NOW".

2) When you see the pop up, scroll down to the bottom.

3) Make sure you click on "OTHER OPTIONS". Not the tempting blue button.

Part 2 - Search customisation

4) It will show you the options you can configure the privacy policy. Let's start with Search customisation by clicking on "EDIT SETTINGS" in Search customerisation.

5) In search customisation, if you don't want Google to use information they have collected about you and to give you search results and recommendations, you can turn this off by clicking on the "blue slider button".

6) Once it is done, you should see the button greyed out. Click "BACK" to go back to the option screen.

Part 3 - Ads settings

7) Good. Let's move onto the next setting. In the Ads settings, click "EDIT SETTINGS".

8) In the Ads Settings, there are two parts you need to take a look. The first is about allowing Google to provide you search ads based on information they have collected about you. If you don't want this kind of personalised ads, you can turn it off by clicking on the "green button".

9) Then Google will prompt and ask "Are you sure?". If you have already made up your mind about this and want to go ahead, click "SWITCH OFF".

10) Google now confirms that you have successfully opted out, click "I'VE FINISHED" to continue.

11) When you are back to the "Ads Settings" screen, scroll down to see the next option. This is about allowing Google to pass on the information they have collected about you to 3rd party for advertising purpose. If you don't want this, you can turn this option off by clicking on "OFF".

12) Again, Google will prompt and ask "Are you sure?". If you have already made up your mind about this and want to go ahead, click "SWITCH OFF".

13) Google now confirms that you have successfully opted out, click "I'VE FINISHED" to continue.

14) When you are back to the "Ads Settings" screen, click "Done" at the bottom to continue.

Part 4 - YouTube customisation

15) Let's move onto the next setting. In YouTube customisation, click "EDIT SETTINGS".

16) You are now in the YouTube customisation settings. Remember Google owns YouTube, hence the setting here. There are two parts. The first is about YouTube suggesting videos to you based on what you have watched and the second is about YouTube suggesting videos to you based on what you have searched. If you don't want YouTube to keep track of your watch and search activities, then you can turn both off, by clicking on the "blue buttons".

17) Just click "OK" to continue.

 18) Again, click "OK" to continue.

 19) Click on "BACK" to go back to the main settings screen.

Part 5 - Browser Based controls (optional)

20) In the main settings screen, the last option is the Browser Based controls. There is not much we can do in terms of Google settings here, but here is what it looks like if you click "EDIT SETTINGS"

21) Here is what Browser-based controls screen looks like. You can manage cookie settings in your browser. You can also download special plug-ins for Google Analytics. Click "BACK" to continue.

22) You are now back to the main settings screen. Click "BACK" to continue.

Part 6 - Agree the policy

23) Finally, you can safely click on "I AGREE". Until Google asks you for your permission again in a few months time. When it happens, you know exactly what to do.

Well done!

You have just stopped Google from using the information they have collected about you for recommendation, advertising and 3^rd party advertising purpose.

Hope you find this guide useful. Comments are welcome. Please feel free to LIKE and SHARE it with your friends. Certainly if you have any further questions or need some help, our friendly local experts are more than happy to help you. You can make an appointment with our experts here.

Thank you.

#privacy #Google #securityalert