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I never consented to this and there was no indication anywhere that activity on my Android phone would show up in Google's My Activity. I see stuff like "com.google.android.pack" and other stuff. How do I STOP this information from being sent to Google? How long has this been going on for?

What information gets sent? For instance, I just read My Activity has detailson the photos I've taken. What kinds of details? How does Web & App Activity differ from Device Information? Does Web & App Activity the setting that controls whether information about apps I use is sent to Google? Does it send my Chrome browser history to Google? It looks like it controls my Pixel's default camera app, too. Is there a way to keep search history on but not the camera info being sent?

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  • "Does it send my Chrome browser history to Google?" ... Oh boy.... aren't you in for a treat – Slav Feb 11 at 21:35
  • @Slav I'm serious. Chrome is not set to synchronize my history, tabs and so on with Google, so does it still do it with these settings? I know Google has privacy issues, but if Chrome is transmitting my actual history—not just stuff like search suggestions and what not—then that is something that was not made clear in the least. – Melab Feb 12 at 22:49
  • "Chrome Sync" is to synchronize between different instances of Chrome. It does not control what is sent or not sent to Google Account servers. The latter you control through myaccount.google.com -> Activity controls -> Web & App Activity -> Include Chrome History – Slav Feb 13 at 15:38
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On your phone, navigate to Settings > Google (or Accounts and select Google account). Then click Google Account > Data & Personalization.

Under Activity Controls section you can review and turn on/off many of these tracking features. BTW, you consented to this when you skimped over the ToS Agreement and just clicked "next, next" when setting up your phone.

Each section explains what it saves/tracks.

  • Web & App Activity is specific to Google Apps and Websites (maps, search, account, etc). It also includes 3rd party Apps you use on Google's OS (i.e. Android). It also includes history (i.e. Chrome History) of these apps. Thankfully, the latter can be separately disabled.

  • Device Information is more for preinstalled Android apps, like Phone and Contacts, voice searches, etc.

Oh and it has been going on for years. The only "recentish" change is that logging into 1 Google Service (for example, Maps) also logs you automatically into other Google Services (like YouTube, Gmail, etc)

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  • Is the Chrome history done through the tab synchronization thing? – Melab Feb 12 at 22:52
  • Has this been happening with only certain Android versions? – Melab Feb 12 at 22:54
  • @Melab been happening since I started using Android, which is at least 4 versions – Slav Feb 13 at 15:41
  • It looks like it was unchecked by default. Is it unchecked by default? – Melab Feb 13 at 21:24

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