Google privacy update tries to make it easier to wipe web history

You also have more control over the ads you see and the info Google saves.

© CNET   Delete with ease.

By Sean Keane, CNET

Google tweaked its software to make it easier for you to delete search history and find important privacy controls, the company said Wednesday.

The tech giant has updated its menus, giving you the ability to review and delete search history within Google search itself, Eric Miraglia, director of the product management, privacy and data protection office, said in a blog post.

Before Wednesday, you had to pop into your Google account to manage this data. You can now also control the ads you see through the Ad Settings menu and choose the information Google saves by looking at Activity Controls.

These features arrived for desktop and mobile web Wednesday and will hit the Google app for iOS and Android in the coming weeks.

"Next year, we'll expand this to Maps, followed by many other Google products," Miraglia said. "Having access to relevant and actionable privacy controls directly from the Google products you use every day is just one way that we are continuously working to build privacy that works for everyone."

In September, Google promised changes to its Chrome browser after it faced criticism for hoarding cookies and logging in its website users. Weeks later, it shut down the slumping Google+ social network after acknowledging that a breach exposed the data of up to 500,000 users.