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It's actually very easy to disable location tracking across all your Google devices and services. https://myaccount.google.com/ https://myaccount.google.com/ a

It's actually very easy to disable location tracking across all your Google devices and services. https://myaccount.google.com/ https://myaccount.google.com/ and click Privacy. I did this and also cleared the (kind of cool, really) history they'd built up over the years. It took maybe 10 minutes. The amount of data Google had collected was impressive. It showed vacations I'd forgotten about, airports I'd transferred in, that kind of stuff.

ocdtrekkie 10y ago
The cost to this is bigger than you think though: Google software becomes so useless with it disabled you might as well just get someone else's software entirely. For instance, Google Maps can't even, on my local device, show me the last couple places I searched for. Because if it isn't on the cloud, Google won't store it at all. This is what initially drove me off to HERE Maps a few years ago. I've also had searches unable to even get me in the general local region, because if I won't let Google track my every move in their history, they won't bother to figure out what state I'm in for a search I'm running at the moment.
- fixermark 10y ago
  That makes sense. From an engineering standpoint, supporting local caching and cloud means they have to write (and maintain, and debug) every algorithm twice. Or, they can write it once to take advantage of the cloud and cross-service integration, and people who don't want that feature-set can use another, less-integrated service. Perhaps they are putting their chips on the assumption that the quality of service that can be provided with data integration is going to exceed alternatives.
- zymhan 10y ago
  I too am annoyed by the lack of search history in Maps if you don't enable "Web & App Activity" tracking for your entire Google account. Local search history caching is not a difficult feature to have. They omit it for a reason, so that you will be encouraged to link a Google account and enable search history tracking.
- imh 10y ago
  This is a frequent pattern with their privacy controls. There's no granularity and services become all or nothing. I just did the privacy checkup thing they offer and for the "Web & app activity" part there's just a single checkbox. Waze wanted my location either all of the time or it wouldn't work, with no "Just when I use the app" option. (As an aside, I was kinda horrified by the things Google had just assumed were ok. Opt out is a dark pattern.)
  - fixermark 10y ago
    I'm curious: What did they assume was okay that horrified you?

ocdtrekkie 10y ago

The cost to this is bigger than you think though: Google software becomes so useless with it disabled you might as well just get someone else's software entirely. For instance, Google Maps can't even, on my local device, show me the last couple places I searched for. Because if it isn't on the cloud, Google won't store it at all. This is what initially drove me off to HERE Maps a few years ago. I've also had searches unable to even get me in the general local region, because if I won't let Google track my every move in their history, they won't bother to figure out what state I'm in for a search I'm running at the moment.

fixermark 10y ago
That makes sense. From an engineering standpoint, supporting local caching and cloud means they have to write (and maintain, and debug) every algorithm twice. Or, they can write it once to take advantage of the cloud and cross-service integration, and people who don't want that feature-set can use another, less-integrated service. Perhaps they are putting their chips on the assumption that the quality of service that can be provided with data integration is going to exceed alternatives.
zymhan 10y ago
I too am annoyed by the lack of search history in Maps if you don't enable "Web & App Activity" tracking for your entire Google account. Local search history caching is not a difficult feature to have. They omit it for a reason, so that you will be encouraged to link a Google account and enable search history tracking.
imh 10y ago
This is a frequent pattern with their privacy controls. There's no granularity and services become all or nothing. I just did the privacy checkup thing they offer and for the "Web & app activity" part there's just a single checkbox. Waze wanted my location either all of the time or it wouldn't work, with no "Just when I use the app" option. (As an aside, I was kinda horrified by the things Google had just assumed were ok. Opt out is a dark pattern.)
- fixermark 10y ago
  I'm curious: What did they assume was okay that horrified you?