Now you can see what Google knows about you

Using our iPhones, searching Google Maps, checking Facebook – it’s easy to forget that there are always organisations lurking in the background of the internet watching what we’re doing…

Now tech reporter Cara McGoogan has outlined an easy way to discover exactly what Google knows about you.

(Hint: it’s a lot.)

Here are the steps, as reported in The Telegraph.

1. Go to history.google.com/history

2. Make sure you’re logged into a Google account (Gmail, for example)

3. Select the down arrow next to “last week” and change it to “all time”

There it is: the full list of searches you’ve done while logged into Google.

4. Browse your more recent search history by selecting “last month” and “last year”

5. Delete your browsing data

You can delete the stored searches if you like. Click the three dots in the top right of your screen, and select “Delete options”. If you then click “Advanced” you can delete the searches from all time.

6. Google knows where you’ve been

If you click the three dots (top right) and select “Settings: then “Show more controls” you can “Manage Activity” under the “Places you go” heading. If you don’t have your phone’s location services turned off, this will show you a map of everywhere you’ve been with your mobile.

7. See how old Google thinks you are

Scroll to the bottom of the “Activity controls” page and select “Ads”. Now you will see the gender, age range and interests Google as assigned to you. How close was it?