Google May Be Recording Your Voice by Default – Here’s What You Need to Know
- Google may be saving voice recordings from your interactions with its services without your explicit knowledge, according to recent reports and user discoveries.
- The voice and audio activity setting, which controls whether Google saves audio recordings, is turned off by default.
- Users have reported discovering thousands of voice entries in their accounts, some dating back to 2017.
Google may be saving voice recordings from your interactions with its services without your explicit knowledge, according to recent reports and user discoveries. These recordings can come from Google Assistant, Search, and Maps, and are stored as part of the Web & App Activity setting in your Google Account.
The voice and audio activity setting, which controls whether Google saves audio recordings, is turned off by default. However, if it has been enabled at any point, Google will store audio snippets when you use services like Assistant, Search, or Maps while signed into your account. These recordings are used to improve audio recognition technologies and related Google services.
Users have reported discovering thousands of voice entries in their accounts, some dating back to 2017. One user shared finding nearly 7,000 Assistant-related entries going back to December 2017, including audio clips that could be played back directly from their activity history.
Even if you turn the voice and audio activity setting off, previously saved recordings are not automatically deleted. Google states that turning off the setting prevents future voice inputs from being saved, but existing audio remains in your account unless manually removed.
To check and manage these recordings, users can access their Web & App Activity through their Google Account settings. On Android devices, this involves opening the Settings app, navigating to Google, managing the Google account, selecting Data & privacy, and then tapping Web & App Activity under History settings. From there, users can view, play, or delete individual audio recordings associated with past interactions.
Google notes that audio recordings may also be saved in other locations depending on additional settings, so reviewing Web & App Activity is a key step in understanding what voice data is stored. Users concerned about privacy can delete these recordings at any time through the same interface.