Google Privacy changes. Anyone find this somewhat sinister?

[motn]

Yesterday, in the DM (yes, the DM!) there was an article on how to delete your Google Web History (if you have a Google account) - up to 1st March... here

Today, you cannot delete your Web History - Google have removed that option.

You only have the option to say yes please or no thanks. So then you click on the "web history removal" link on the help menu. It tells you how to remove your Web History. You click on that and it takes you back to the page...where there is NO OPTION to remove your Web History.

I'm not usually paranoid, and I don't have anything to hide - just finding this a little dodgy

Those instructions say you need to sign into your google account.

If you don't have a google account (perhaps like me you just use the search engine page) does any of this apply?

And what about things like google maps (came included on iPhone and iPad)?

I deleted my web history (as described) just an hour ago...

yep have a google account and am signed in.

am not in UK not sure if that makes any difference.

I noticed one of the comments at the end of the article...some guy in Thailand describes exactly the same thing I experience. The page mentioned and shown in the article on DM simply does not exist.

I'm the same as you Edith. But DS1 has a gmail email.

Hmm, I've just followed those instructions but when i click on "Go to web history" I don't get the options of "remove" or "Remove web history", I get "No thanks" or "turn web history on". Does that mean I don't need to do anything about this?

norm, that's exactly what I'm getting...no option to remove the history....only no thanks or turn web history on. Interesting that there is NO explanation as to what "no thanks" means....

I'm not getting the option to remove either, just the 'no thanks' or 'turn web history on'. I'm signed in to my account too.

Don't worry, there is nothing wrong. I have a few google accounts. On one I got the option to delete history as per the Daily Mail article. It showed me my history and I deleted it. This was my main google account. On the other ones, I don't think I hardly ever signed in, so it didn't collect a history for me, which is why I just got teh No thanks option, which I chose.

I think 'No thanks' means don't turn it on, because for those accounts it has never been turned on and no history has been collected.

I think the 'no thanks' ones for me were youtube accounts that I only signed into on youtube, which is possibly why they had no history, but not exactly sure.

thanks claig,

I'm not sure either...my google account is about a month old and I use it for a couple of products. Still can't see why I wouldn't have the option to check history...since it refers to all history viewed using Google as your browser I think.

Also I'm permanently logged in to Google so I would have thought I had some history.

I also find it kinda "high-handed" of them. Like "we won't explain what we're doing here.. you sheep don't need to know!"

yes, I don't understand that. If you are permanently logged in, I would have thought that it was collecting history as well.

I think what you could do is the following. Turn your history on by not choosing the "No thanks". Then do some searches, then go back to your account and I think you will see the page the Daily Mail talks about and you will also see your history. Then you can turn your history off, and when you look at your history again, you will see that it is empty.

I agree they should make all this a lot clearer.