GOOGLE MAKES IT EASIER FOR YOU TO ERASE YOUR SEARCH HISTORY

Google has decided to now make it easier to control your Search History.

Google stores a record of everything you search for on google.com if you’re logged into your Google Account. However, you are still able to clear your local browser history, but that won’t clear what's stored on Google's servers. While users have been able to dig into their Google Account page and find an activity stream of search history, Google is making it a whole lot easier to delete this history within search itself.

Anyone who uses a Google Account will now be able to review and delete recent search history within Google search itself. Google's privacy controls won't be buried away in settings anymore, and the company is even providing quicker access to controls like disabling ad personalisation or even preventing Google sites from saving activity. Ultimately, these changes are designed to make Google users a little more aware of the control they have over their account.

Google is making these changes in search on desktop and mobile web, with iOS and Android updates to follow in the coming weeks. Google is also planning to expand these same changes to services like Google Maps next year, in an effort to overhaul the company's privacy controls.

These new privacy controls come at a time when there's increased focus on the work that giant tech companies are doing to protect privacy. Facebook has faced a major privacy scandal this year, and its recent security breach could be a big test of Europe's new GDPR rules. Google is also facing mounting pressure from Congress over a recent Google+ privacy flaw, and its new privacy changes are arriving on the same day that Apple CEO, Tim Cook, is calling for comprehensive federal privacy laws.