Google’s privacy settings are no longer an incomprehensible labyrinth

Google is making it easier for you to control how its services use your personal information. The company rolled out a new “My Account” dashboard Monday. Its aim: To simplify privacy and security settings across Google’s many offerings, and explain more clearly how and why it uses personal data. The dashboard has sections for managing sign-in and security settings, personal info and privacy and account preferences. Each section provides a closer look at exactly what information you are sharing with Google and what services have access to that information. The security tab, for example, shows you a list of third-party apps and services that have access to your account, while the account history section allows you to disable location, search and browsing history. The dashboard also offers what it calls “checkups” for your privacy and security settings. Each checkup is a a step-by-step guide that walks users through key account settings. Google has always offered ways to control privacy settings, such as location and search history — but these settings were often buried under several layers of menus.