What’s changing (and why it matters)

Google is splitting its big, awkward privacy toggle into smaller, more manageable switches. Instead of one giant “Web & App Activity” master switch doing everything, you’ll soon see separate controls for your Search stuff and for Google Play. The company says this will let you decide what gets saved and whether Google should personalize your suggestions — separately.

From searches and Maps trips to Shopping, Flights, Hotels, Translate and News, Google will now collect that activity under a new Search History setting. That history can also include media from interactions — think Lens snaps or voice snippets — and Google calls this the Save Media option. The idea is to let you revisit past searches and pick up conversations or Lens lookups where you left off.

  • What can be saved: searches, Maps activity, Shopping queries, Flights & Hotels, Translate use, News activity, and media like images or audio.
  • Save Media: Google may store images, files, audio, and video from interactions to support features like visual search or voice follow-ups. You can turn this off.
  • Personalization: there’s a separate control to decide whether Google uses saved data to tailor recommendations and results.

Important detail: if your account already has Web & App Activity switched on, Google will flip the new Search Services History and the Save Media option on during the transition. But you can always turn them off later and delete individual items.

What you should do (quick and simple)

New settings mean new choices. Here’s a short, snappy checklist so you don’t wake up to personalized hotel ads for that one weird trip you tried to forget:

  • Check the new controls when they appear in your Google Account — they should show up in the next few days.
  • If you want convenience but not creepy tailoring, keep history on but switch off Personalization.
  • Turn off Save Media if you don’t want photos, audio, or files stored with your search history.
  • Adjust auto-delete timing or manually remove past items if you prefer shorter retention.

Bottom line: the update gives you more granular control — which is great — but it’s worth taking a minute to confirm the new settings match your comfort level. Because convenience is awesome, but so is privacy (and fewer ads about that weird late-night translation attempt).