Google tracks your footsteps

And Google isn’t the only tech company that keeps on where people have been.

If you’re a frequent user of Google’s location services the timeline will benefit from information on where you work and live, which makes the whole thing a bit more readable, and if you’re so inclined you can click on any location and name it – parents’ house, local pub etc – so it will be listed as such each time you visit. In addition to unveiling the My Account all-in-one-place hub for controlling Google settings in June, the company also announced that the next version of its Android mobile operating system – set for release this fall – will provide new support for managing app permissions and authorizing payments with fingerprints.

On the other hand you can also add new entries that the data collection didn’t pick up, to flesh out your records or to fool Google into thinking you’re more interesting than you appear. Earlier this month, for instance, the Washington, D.C.-based Electronic Privacy Information Center sent a letter to the U.S. Federal Trade Commission and the U.S. Department of Justice asking those agencies to investigate whether such devices “violate federal wiretap laws that prohibit the unlawful interception of private communications”.

You can limit this. Your Timeline feature is relatively easy to disable by going onto the webpage here, and in the bottom left corner simply selecting “Pause” on Location History.

If you use Google Maps, Google will ask to ‘use your location.’ That’s what triggers Your Timeline to start gathering the information. If this doesn’t sound like your cup of tea – and who can blame you? – here’s our guide on how to disable the new feature. Toggle the location settings off on your device.

Underneath Location History, select “Delete Location History” to wipe clean the cache of locations.

Note that disabling all location-finding features will throw a monkey wrench into the functioning of some popular apps, so it’s wise to carefully consider which you want to strip of location services.

Repeat the steps for every Google account you have registered. You can have a read of Apple’s description of what the features allow here.

The new timeline feature is being gradually rolled out to users on both desktop and Android devices.