How to view your Google search statistics

You didn’t really think that when you clear your history it actually gets rid of everything, did you? As we’ve explained before, Google stored your browsing history for years and even the time and place of connection. Now they have enabled a new service that lets you both download your full search history and view other interesting data such as your search activity level by time of day and day of the week, as well your totals on both counts.

Below is the described data, which shows the 50,000 searches I’ve done on Google since November 2012. From the Activity calendar you can view all the searches for a particular day, be they websites, images, or YouTube videos.

But the most interesting thing is still to come. From the drop-down menu on the upper right gear icon you can go to a section to download the full history of your Google Drive account. That done, you’ll get an email a few moments later on your Gmail with a link to the full history divided into sections of JSON files, which can be read as plain text files with any text editor that reads that format.

Other options of interest on the menu include the ‘Delete items’ one, which lets you fully – and properly this time – erase your search history, including data stored by Google. (Careful that no one’s looking over your shoulder here!) Conversely, in Settings > Show More Settings you can choose which data you want Google to store from now on. The idea is that that info serves to offer a browsing experience customized on many levels. It’s up to everyone individually to decide if that extra service is worth more than Google having a full history of everything about your online habits.