You may not realize this, but every time you ask Google Now a question, Google makes a recording of it and keeps it stored in its vast trove of information it stores on you.
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One good starting point is the Google Account history which visualizes data that Google has collected in the past and made available in the interface that is accessible on the web.
To get there simply click on the following link.
In case you’re wondering how to find out – and indeed delete – what Google has been collecting on you, all you need to do, is visit this particular link after logging into your Google account.
Google’s location history, or timeline page, serves up a Google Map and allows you to select specific dates and times and see where you were.
Each item is listed with a transcript of what you have said, the device or service you sent the command to and the time of the activity.
That said, if you still don’t like the idea of Google recording everything you say, you can switch voice activity “off”…kind of. You can listen to the actual recorded clips again by clicking on any of the Play buttons underneath the entries.
The settings enable you to pause voice & video activity.
Before the hysteria gets out of control, Google stores voice searches on its servers in an effort to improve its technology and ultimately provide a better experience for users. My most recent recording, according to Google, happened on October. 7, though it’s just a bunch of far-off noise; I’m not sure how a voice search would have been triggered in the first place. Google may also continue to collect and store data in anonymized form.
Note that this setting does not affect storage of information by Google products (like Voice) that can be used to store your audio or voice inputs. Click Personal info & privacy then choose Manage activity under the voice activity heading. Once you ask Google to stop further chronicling your activity (voice or otherwise), you’ll be immediately warned that merely stopping Google from registering your activity won’t automatically delete all your previously-recorded search history, including all prior queries spoken into Google Now.
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It is however important to remember that while stopping Google from linking your activity to your account may mean the search giant will no longer link your searches to you directly, it won’t stop the company from actually recording whatever it is that you’re doing on the net. Others may find reassurance that Google has opened its books and lets them see what the company has stored about them.
