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There are few emails that make your stomach drop faster than one about “new privacy settings.” That usually means a company has moved another data switch, renamed a control or tucked a new choice inside an account menu you rarely visit. Google is now rolling out one of those changes for Search services. The setting is called Search Services History. It controls whether Google saves your activity from Search services when you are signed into your Google Account.
That may sound routine at first. Most of us already know Google can save search history. However, this update goes beyond the old idea of typed searches in a box. Google says Search Services History can include images you upload, files you ask about, voice searches, Search Live recordings, Translate speaking practice audio and other interactions with Search services.
The part that should make you pause is the Save Media setting. When it is turned on, Google can save media from your Search services interactions. That saved media may be used to improve Google’s AI models and technologies. In other words, the random photo you searched with Google Lens or the voice recording you used in a Search feature may help improve Google’s AI.
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Google’s new Search services pop-up tells you media from your searches may now be saved in your history. (Harun Ozalp/Anadolu via Getty Images)
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What Google’s Search Services History can save
Google says Search Services History may include your searches, results you view, AI Mode responses, voice search recordings, Search Live transcripts, Google Lens images, uploaded files and some information tied to your activity.
Maybe you used Google Lens to identify a plant. Perhaps you uploaded an image to search for a product. You might have used Translate to practice before a trip. Or maybe you asked a question by voice because your hands were full. All of that can feel harmless in the moment. Still, the bigger issue is where that data can go after it is saved.
Google says saved media may help you revisit past visual searches or continue a Search Live conversation. That can be useful. However, Google also says saved media may help develop and improve AI models and technologies. That is the trade-off. You may get more personalized features. Google may get more personal inputs from the tools you already use.
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Why this Google AI setting deserves your attention
This is the kind of privacy change that can slide right past you. The language sounds helpful. The setting lives inside account controls. The rollout happens gradually, so you may not see it right away. That is exactly why you should check.
Google says the new settings are based on your prior choices for Web & App Activity and Search Personalization. If those were on, the new Search Services History setting may also be on. If your prior settings were off, the new one should be off too. That sounds fair enough, but it still puts the work on you.
Also, turning off Save Media does not automatically wipe everything that was already saved. Google says previously saved media may continue to be used to improve its technologies unless you delete it from your account. If saved media has already been selected to train AI models, Google says it is no longer connected to your account and may be kept for up to four years.
That is the part I would not ignore. Once your media moves into that AI-training pipeline, deleting the original activity may not pull it back.
The Search Services History setting appears inside Google’s My Activity page, where you can review what Google saves. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig, File)
How to opt out of Google’s Search AI data training setting
You can check this from a phone or computer, but I recommend using a computer if you can. The account settings are easier to read.
- Open a browser and go to myactivity.google.com.
- Make sure you are signed into the account you use for Search, Gmail, YouTube or Android. If you have more than one Google Account, repeat these steps for each one.
- Look for the Search Services History section. If you do not see it yet, Google says the new settings are still rolling out. In that case, your Search history may still be controlled by Web & App Activity.
- If Search Services History is turned on, you should see a Save Media subsetting.
- Uncheck the box next to Save Media if you do not want Google saving media from your Search services interactions.
- If you want to go further, turn Search Services History off. Google says you can choose Turn off or Turn off and delete activity.
- To remove older items, go back to Search Services History and select View and delete saved history. Review what appears there, then delete activity you do not want saved.
- If Search Services History has not reached your account yet, go to My Activity and review Web & App Activity. That may still control some Search services history until the rollout reaches you.
- Google also has a Personalized Recommendations setting for Search services. This can affect how Search services personalize results, feeds and AI responses based on your activity. You can review it in your Google Account under Data & privacy, then Personalization settings.
What happens after you turn Save Media off
Turning off Save Media stops Google from saving media from future Search services interactions as part of Search Services History. However, it does not shut down every kind of Search history. Text-based activity, transcripts and some AI responses may still be saved if Search Services History remains on.
Also, Google says media from your future interactions can still be used to respond to you and help keep services safe. The key difference is that future media should not be used to train Google’s generative AI models unless you provide feedback. That is a meaningful distinction, but it isn’t the same as using Google with no data collection at all.
You should also know that Save Media does not control everything across Google. It does not cover separate activity settings for Gemini Apps, YouTube, NotebookLM or Google Voice. Those services have their own controls.
Kurt’s key takeaways
Google’s new Search Services History setting is worth checking now, especially if you use Lens, voice search, Translate or AI Mode. The Save Media box is the one I would look for first. If you do not want your images, files, audio or video saved for future AI improvement, turn it off. Then go one step further and review old activity. Turning off a setting usually protects future data, but past items may still sit in your account unless you delete them. Finally, repeat the process for every Google Account you use. Many of us have a personal account, a work account or an old account still signed in somewhere.
The Save Media checkbox is the key setting to turn off if you do not want images, files, audio and video saved for AI training. (Kurt “CyberGuy” Knutsson)
Would you keep using Google Lens the same way if you knew your image searches could help train AI for years? Let us know by writing to us at Cyberguy.com
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