People use Google to search for just about anything. Due to the sensitivity of the nature, some people may not want their search history to stay on Google for too long.
And this is why Google has updated its Android app to allow users do that. The tech giant is finally bringing the ability for users to delete the last 15 minutes of their search history.
All users need to do, is tap on their profile picture, and look for the 'Delete last 15 min' option.
The option can be found below the Search History option in the settings panel of the Google app.
The feature was first spotted by former XDA Developers editor-in-chief Mishaal Rahman, who said that he received information about the feature seemingly rolling out
"We’re currently rolling this feature out on the Google app for Android and expect it to be available to everyone using the app in the next few weeks," confirmed a spokesperson for Google.
On top of that, Google also offers a tool to automatically delete things in users' search history that are 3, 18, or 36 months old.
On desktop, users' options for deleting searches are limited to setting their history to auto-delete every three, 18, or 36 months, or deleting searches manually by hand.
At Google I/O 2021, Google announced it'd roll out an option to delete the last 15 minutes of your search history. This rolled out on iOS in July 2021 but was said to come to Android later. Well, it appears to now be rolling out!
Thanks to @panduu221 for the tip! pic.twitter.com/gdtAa1pIFo— Mishaal Rahman (@MishaalRahman) March 18, 2022
It's worth noting, that the feature was first introduced on iOS.
Google introduced the ability for iOS users to delete their last 15 minutes search history back in 2021, in an attempt to bring Google back into the good graces of iPhone users.
This feature was first announced during Google I/O in May, before coming to Google's iOS app in July.
At that time, Google said the feature would arrive on the Android version of the app later in 2021, but the company failed to meet that deadline.
And this time, Google finally delivers.
With countless of web searches done through mobile phones and desktop, the company is seeing new queries it never see before, every single day.
There is no way of saying how much sensitive data Google is processing, in order to tailor its search engine's results pages.
But by allowing users to remove their most recent searches, Google is valuing users' privacy.
It's worth noting that the feature only works when users have the 'Web and App Activity' setting enabled. Google said that it can only track users' search history to "personalize" experience when the setting is turned on.
To see what Google knows, users can visit the My Activity section on their Google Account settings page.