MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif., July 15 (San Francisco News Online) — Google is rolling out a new Search privacy control called Search Services History that can save more than typed searches. According to Google’s settings and notices, the feature can keep activity from Search services when a user is signed in to a Google Account, including Google Lens images, voice search recordings, Search Live recordings and transcripts, Translate speaking-practice audio, uploaded files and some related activity information.
That matters because Google says saved media may be used to improve its services and technologies, including AI models and safety measures.
What is Search Services History?
Search Services History is a new account setting tied to Google Search. Google’s documentation, as reported by multiple outlets, says the setting controls whether the company saves Search-service activity for a signed-in user.
In practical terms, that means searches are no longer just about typed queries. If you use Lens to identify an image, speak a search into your phone, upload a file into a Google search tool or use one of Google’s newer voice-based search features, those interactions can fall under the new history control.
What does the Save Media setting do?
A sub-setting called Save Media sits under Search Services History. When it is turned on, Google can store media from Search-service interactions.
Google’s documentation says that saved media can be used to “develop and improve Google services and technologies, including AI models and safety measures.”
One part of Google’s guidance says that media already selected for AI training is no longer linked to the account and may be kept for up to four years.
How is this different from older Google settings?
Google’s notices say the new control is separate from Web & App Activity. That is important because many users have long used Web & App Activity as the main switch for keeping Google account activity.
Google’s rollout appears to be happening gradually, and the company says some users may not see the new setting yet. Until the rollout reaches an account, Google’s guidance says some Search activity may still be governed by the older Web & App Activity control.
The new setup also appears to split Search Services History from Personalized Recommendations, which Google says are now handled as separate controls.
Does this affect Google Photos?
One report on Google’s documentation says Google Photos is not the target of the change. Instead, the policy covers media that is actively submitted through Search and related tools, not the photos a person keeps in a personal photo library.
How do you turn it off?
Google says users can manage the setting by going to My Activity at myactivity.google.com. From there, users can turn off Search Services History or uncheck Save Media.
That is not the same as deleting data already stored. Google’s documentation says turning off Save Media does not automatically remove previously saved media. To clear older items, users would need to delete them from the account.
Why is Google making the change?
Google spokesperson Davis Thompson said the new settings help users get more relevant results and revisit their searches, and that they can be turned on or off at any time.
The broader privacy question is how much search-related media people expect Google to keep. Because the setting can include images, audio and uploaded files, the change reaches beyond a traditional search history and into the kind of content people may assume is only temporary.
For anyone who uses Lens, voice search or file uploads in Google Search, the safest step is to check the account settings and decide whether Search Services History and Save Media should stay on.