Google is changing how it handles Search history data, and the shift reaches beyond the words people type into a search box. A new account setting called Search Services History may retain media from Search services and use it to improve Google’s AI models.
The feature is part of a global rollout happening over the next few months. For users who do not want images, files, audio or video recordings from Search services used for AI training, the important move is to review the setting directly in Google’s My Activity page.
What Google Is Changing
The new setting is called Search Services History. When it appears in an account, it can save activity from Search services so users can revisit past searches, including visual and voice searches.
According to the source article, the setting was already enabled when the writer first visited the page. The box to save uploaded media from Google Search for AI training was also already checked. If a user previously disabled Google’s Web & App Activity and Search Personalization toggles, then Search Services History would be off.
That distinction matters because the setting is not limited to typed Search history. Google’s page description says saved media includes images, files, and audio and video recordings from interactions with Search services.
The examples listed include Google Lens images, recordings from Search Live or Translate speaking practice, content users upload, and voice searches. In plain terms, the setting can cover several kinds of input that people may not think of as traditional search history.
How To Opt Out
When the rollout reaches your account, the place to check is Google’s My Activity page. From there, select the Search Services History tab.
That page shows what Google saves from Search history. It is also where users can turn off the entire setting and delete activity.
There is a second step that should not be missed. Users who do not want image uploads used for AI training need to uncheck the box next to Save media.
The basic checklist is short:
- Go to Google’s My Activity page.
- Select the Search Services History tab.
- Review what is being saved from Search history.
- Turn off the setting if you do not want it active.
- Uncheck Save media if you do not want uploaded media used for AI training.
- Delete activity from the same area if you choose to do so.
The source article emphasizes acting sooner rather than later because saved media may be handled differently once it has been used to train AI models.
Why Timing Matters
When the writer turned off the feature, a pop-up said: “If your saved media is used to train our AI models, it is disconnected from your Google Account. This training data will be kept for up to 4 years, even if you delete the original activity,”
That message creates a practical privacy issue. Deleting the original activity does not necessarily mean any training data already created from saved media immediately disappears.
For users, the implication is simple: the decision is most effective before media has been used for model training. Once that happens, the source says the training data is disconnected from the Google Account and may remain for up to 4 years.
Google spokesperson Davis Thompson told WIRED by email: “These new settings help users get more relevant results and revisit their searches—including visual and voice searches—and they can be turned on or off at any time,” The source article says he did not answer WIRED’s question about this feature being on by default.
What Counts As Saved Media
The phrase saved media can sound narrow, but Google’s own description is broad. It includes images, files, audio and video recordings from Search services.
That means the setting can cover interactions such as a Google Lens image, a voice search, content uploaded during a Search interaction, or recordings from Search Live or Translate speaking practice.
This wider range of data matters because AI models do not improve only from text. The source article explains that AI models also need diverse inputs in forms such as audio or video. More kinds of data from a large user base could help Google improve faster than competitors.
Thorin Klosowski, a senior security and privacy activist at the Electronic Frontier Foundation, described Google as being in a distinct position because of how many services people use. He said: “Google is in a unique spot compared to a lot of the other companies with this,”
He added: “Because they offer so many services that people have been using for so long and have grown pretty comfortable and complacent with the amount of data collected.”
The source article also notes that everyday apps create inertia. Even when users dislike a change, that may not be enough to push them toward alternative services.
The Larger Privacy Question
The rollout reflects a broader pattern: users often have to opt out if they do not want their data used for AI training. Klosowski argued that the standard should be different, saying: “I think ‘opt in’ is really asking the bare minimum of these companies,”
He continued: “Asking their users to consciously choose to enable these features is the least they can do.” The point is that an opt-in approach would require a clearer case for why users should turn such features on.
Google’s email to the writer’s testing account on June 23 framed the change as giving the user “even more control over saved history.” The message also offered examples of how saving media could be useful, including: “For example, this lets you revisit your past visual searches with Lens or continue a Search Live conversation about a song you heard.”
But the source article notes that the email did not provide similar examples after saying saved media would be used for AI model training. Instead, the message moved on to the next detail.
Ben Winters, director of AI and privacy at the Consumer Federation of America, said the change adds another decision for people using a familiar tool. “It creates this extra layer of math that a consumer has to do about whether they feel comfortable using the tool they’ve been using for a long time,” he said.
Winters also said the change puts the burden on users to avoid AI training, contributing to a sense of fatigue. “There’s an increasing feeling of powerlessness and hopelessness about even trying to protect your data, because every little thing is going to be squeezed out of you,” he said.
For now, the practical takeaway is narrow but important: check Search Services History when it appears in your account, and pay special attention to Save media. That is the control Google gives users who do not want their Search media used for AI training.