Not Fond of Being Tracked? Turn off Google’s Web History.

Today marks ‘D’ day for everyone using any of Google’s suite of products.

That’s because today, their unified privacy policy kicks in, and all the murmuring you’ve been hearing about Google’s draconian information collection tactics become a reality.

Have a Gmail account? You’re being tracked.

Use Google search? You’re being tracked.

Google Docs your thing? You’re being tracked.

Touch any of Google’s products online, and you’re being tracked.

Google has always maintained a policy of tracking user behavior, but Big Brother has become much more insidious in their efforts to ‘provide a more meaningful user experience’ by tracking and collecting every single thing you do!

Per the Digital Journal

[o]nce Google’s new unified privacy policy takes effect all data already collected about you, including search queries, sites visited, age, gender and location will be gathered and assigned to your online identity represented by your Gmail and YouTube accounts. After the policy takes effect you are not allowed to opt out without abandoning Google altogether. But now before the policy takes effect, you have the option of deleting your Google Web History by modifying your settings so that Google is unable to associate data collected about you with your Gmail or YouTube accounts.

I’m not saying that you should run for the hills, but you should be wary of any mass collection protocol that you can only opt out of by completely abandoning the platform.

If you haven’t yet opted out, I just did (I was completely lunching and should have done it earlier), I’d suggest you do so.

Here are a few easy steps for keeping Big Brother from tracking you like a fugitive.

1. Log into your Gmail account. Visit mail.google.com and plug in your username and password.

2. Go to your account settings. Locate the drop down arrow next to your profile picture (top right). Click it and you’ll see the ‘Account Settings’ option. Click it.

3. Navigate down to ‘Go To Web History’ in the ‘Services’ section of your Accounts/Account Overview page. Click ‘Go To Web History.’

4. Click the ‘Remove All Web History’ button.

What you’ve effectively done, through this little exercise is (temporarily) restrict Google’s ability to gather personal information about you as you browse and interact with their products.

They’re still going to track your behavior, they’re just not going to associate that information directly to you.

If you’re not concerned by how much information Big Brother tracks and stores about you, your networks, browsing behavior, sites visits, etc., then ignore my admonitions altogether.

But if being trapped in the matrix does cause your hair to stand on end, get cracking before Google starts tracking!