This archive report was first published on 2 October 2019.
Google has been under scrutiny for its handling of user data, with many users concerned about their personal activity being monitored and used for targeted advertising. In recent years, there have been numerous reports of Google listening in on users' microphones to display personalized ads.
However, Google has now introduced new tools to give customers better control over their privacy when using Google Maps, YouTube, and Google Assistant. The company has announced incognito mode for Maps, which will debut on Android this month before expanding to iOS.
According to a blog post by Google's Eric Miraglia, when turned on, incognito mode in Maps will not save activity on that device to your Google account and won't be used to personalize your Maps experience.
On YouTube, Google is introducing a rolling auto-delete feature that will automatically clear out your location history and web data at an interval of your choosing. As the blog post reads, "Set the time period to keep your data — 3 months, 18 months, or until you delete it, just like Location History and Web & App Activity — and we'll take care of the rest."
Additionally, Google is also introducing a feature that will allow users to wipe recent voice commands or questions to Google Assistant without having to open an app on their phone. Users can simply say "Hey Google, delete the last thing I said to you" or "delete everything I said to you last week" and that data will be erased.
Google is also building a password checkup feature in Google Smart lock, which will let users quickly check if their password is compromised in a third-party breach, find any passwords they are using in multiple places, or replace weak, easy-to-guess passwords they might have in place for some accounts.
