{"id":32193,"date":"2026-06-14T09:16:58","date_gmt":"2026-06-14T13:16:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thundercloud.net\/infoave\/new\/?p=32193"},"modified":"2026-06-14T09:16:58","modified_gmt":"2026-06-14T13:16:58","slug":"google-is-changing-how-it-tracks-your-searches-and-your-photos","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thundercloud.net\/infoave\/new\/google-is-changing-how-it-tracks-your-searches-and-your-photos\/","title":{"rendered":"Google is Changing How It Tracks Your Searches (And Your Photos)"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Google is Changing How It Tracks Your Searches (And Your Photos)<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

If you use Google, Maps, YouTube, Shopping, or any other Google services, you\u2019ll want to pay close attention over the next few days. Google is rolling out an update to how it saves your search history, and they are splitting one big setting into two new ones.<\/span><\/p>\n

As usual, Google\u2019s official announcement sounds a bit like confusing “legalese.” We\u2019ve broken it down into plain English, so you know exactly what is changing and how to protect your privacy.<\/span><\/p>\n

What is Changing<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Previously, Google lumped almost everything you did into one massive bucket called Web & App Activity. If that was turned on, Google remembered everything you searched for to “personalize” your experience.<\/span><\/p>\n

Now, Google is splitting that bucket into two separate settings:<\/span><\/p>\n

    \n
  1. \n

    Search Services History: This controls whether Google remembers what you search for.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/li>\n

  2. \n

    Personalized Recommendations: This controls whether Google uses that history to show you targeted suggestions and ads.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Google says it will respect your current choices. If you already had Web & App Activity turned off, these new settings will stay off. If you had it turned on, they will stay on.<\/span><\/p>\n

    The Big Catch: Google is Now Saving Your Media (Photos & Voice)<\/span><\/h3>\n

    There is one major change you need to know about. Because people are searching in new ways\u2014like taking a photo of an item with Google Lens to look it up, or asking Google to identify a song\u2014Google is now automatically saving your images, files, and voice recordings into your search history.<\/span><\/p>\n

    Google says they use this media to help you look back at your past visual searches and to train its AI models.<\/span><\/p>\n

    Here is the catch:<\/b> If you currently have your history turned on, Google is going to turn this new “Save Media”<\/b> feature ON by default.<\/span><\/p>\n

    How This Affects You and What To Do<\/span><\/h3>\n

    You will see these new options pop up in your Google Account dashboard over the next few days.<\/span><\/p>\n