AMERICANS have been warned that Google may be unintentionally “monitoring” on their YouTube history and tracking their movements using location settings.
Google reportedly creates a profile about viewers’ interests based upon the videos Americans watch, using a special algorithm.
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YouTube is an extremely useful tool for education purposes but some videos such as political content may accidentally reveal how Americans vote at elections.
You can view the watch history of users on your Google account’s My Activity page.
Sometimes, Americans might not have chosen the option to instruct Google to pause watch history.
This stops the tech giant from keeping a log of the videos that you choose to watch, Wired reports.
You can choose to have your search history automatically deleted every three, 18 or 36 month.
YouTube offers several options for deleting your YouTube history.
To remove a video form their watch history, Americans simply need to tap on the three dots at the right-hand corner of the video.
You can also manually delete previous searches from YouTube.
On Google’s advertising settings page, users can select the option that turns off “Ad personalization”.
This will prevent adverts from appearing based on past searches and interests.
YouTube might suggest video suggestions based upon where Americans live in the United States or around the globe.
Users must turn off their location services on mobile devices to prevent this from happening.
If you use a laptop or computer at your home, the tech giant might send suggestions through IP addresses. This can be avoided by allowing location tracking to be paused.
Google has responded to Central Recorder.
‘NOT SO PRIVATE’
For those wanting an extra layer of security, Americans can watch YouTube using an incognito web browser.
The browser might expose more information than users realize.
Although websites won’t show up in your search history, anyone connected to your Wi-Fi network may be able view what you’ve browsed using a particular spy software.
Your employer might be able to view what websites you’ve accessed.
The websites will be able to track that you’re online and keep information if you log in for any reason.
In recent weeks, Google users have been subject to a number of security issues.
Expert Zak Doffman suggested that iPhone users should get rid of Google Photos.
In a Forbes article, he explained that using the app gives the platform full access to your photos, citing privacy concerns.
He said the app doesn’t accept Apple’s new privacy function that limits the photo any apps can access.
Chrome appears to have fallen behind other web browsers when it comes to protecting users from data harvesting and tracking.
According to Pew Research Center data, 72 percent of internet users feel that web tracking has led to a loss of trust in major tech companies.
Forbes was told by experts that Apple is the safer choice when it comes privacy.
A Google spokesperson told Central Recorder at the time that the tech giant is committed to addressing privacy concerns and privacy and security have “always been the core benefits of the Chrome browser”.
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