Auto-delete your activity data from Google

Google is notorious for hanging onto our personal information for longer than is necessary. The company claims that its data-hoarding tendencies are for our own benefit because they enable it to offer us more relevant search results, recommendations and, of course, adverts. Until recently, if you wanted to delete data from your Google account, you had to do so manually, but now new options let you remove at least some of your personal information automatically.

You won't be surprised to hear that the auto-delete controls are disabled by default. To activate them, log into your Google account and click 'Manage your data & personalisation', then 'Manage your activity controls' to access your 'Activity controls' page (you may also see a 'Turn on Auto-delete' link at the bottom of the Google homepage).

The first section is for Web & App Activity, and contains details of the things you do on Google services such as search, Maps and the Play store, as well as information taken from your Chrome history. Click Manage Activity, then 'Choose to delete automatically' and decide how long you want Google to keep hold of your data: for three months, 18 months or until you delete it manually. Click Next, then Confirm to save your preference.

Back on the 'Activity controls' page, select Manage Activity under Location History. Google uses your phone or tablet to track and store details of where you've been, even when you're not using a specific Google service such as Maps.

The information appears as a timeline and a map of all the places you've been. Click the cog in the bottom-right corner of the map, choose 'Automatically delete Location History' and select your preference.

Google also now lets you delete your YouTube History automatically after three or 18 months. This stops the site storing details of all the videos you've searched for and watched, and making 'suggestions' based on your viewing habits.