Deleted my entire Google history from 2015 to 2020 last night - here is what happened next

I got tired of seeing targeted ads for things I searched half a decade ago so I went into my Google account and nuked all my search history from 2015 through 2020. Took about 45 minutes to click through all the delete prompts. The next day my YouTube recommendations went completely blank like I was a brand new user. No more random videos from old hobbies I dropped years ago. Has anyone else done a big data wipe and regretted losing all those personalized results or did it feel worth it to you?

3 comments

3 Comments

foster.jordan4d ago

Wait, you actually had to click through 45 minutes of delete prompts? That sounds like an absolute nightmare, I would have given up after the first 10.

mianelson4d ago

Jumped straight into that one myself with a different account once. I wonder if people even realize those delete prompts are designed to make you hesitate long enough to second-guess yourself. Like, it's almost a psychological game to test if you're really sure you want to go through with it. Maybe it's just me but I felt kinda manipulated when I noticed the pattern of how long each prompt took. Idk, makes you think about how much control we really have over our own data even when we click delete.

shane_hayes4d ago

Whoa, yeah I nuked my 2016-2019 data last month and honestly it felt kinda freeing. My YouTube feed went from recommending old gaming stuff I don't even play anymore to actual relevant stuff. @mianelson you're totally right about those delete prompts being weirdly manipulative, I saw the same thing with the slow confirmations. No regrets here, the blank slate was worth not seeing ads for dog toys I bought three years ago.

-2