Google March 1 Privacy Change: Clear Your YouTube Viewing and Search History

Google is moving to its new so-called Unified Privacy policy on March 1. We ran a how-to gallery on how to clear your Google search engine history yesterday. But you have to do it on all Google services to which you belong, also. Here’s how to clear Youtube viewing and search histories before the deadline.

Google reps say its new policy will make it easier for you to understand its privacy policies by having the same one for each Google service. And there are a lot. While the privacy policy will be clearer, according to the Electronic Frontier Foundation, the end effect will be that it combines all your search and history for all Google properties so Google will be better able to aggregate data and serve it up to advertisers.

Some people could care less. But I do. So here — and special thanks to the EFF for this tip — is how you clear YouTube Viewing and Search history before the March 1 deadline, beyond which there is no return.

First sign into Youtube with your account and password.

This displays your YouTube channel. Click on the icon with your username on it at upper right.

 

Click on Video Manager, second from the top on the right-most menu.

Now click the History bar.

Now select the option to Clear all viewing history.

And then click Pause viewing history.

Now click Search History, below the highlighted History button at left.

Now hit Pause search history.

Remember you’ll have to do this for all Google services you belong to. According to Google, this technique will partially anonymize your data for 18 months — law enforcement will always have access to it, but after 18 months it’ll be mostly gone. But now you’ve cleared it before the March 1 deadline.

Thanks to the EFF for providing this timely tip. Do it now, if you’re going to, before you forget!