The well-known page Google – My activities shows very few controls among which Web and app activity stands out , which will very soon be revised by Google with the introduction of a new option dedicated to the Google Workspace search history.
As it stands, the Activity and web control is described in these terms by Big G: Save your activity on Google sites and apps, including associated information such as location, to give you faster searches, better recommendations and experiences. more personalized on Maps, Search and other Google services.
In the near future, however, this option will no longer be all-encompassing. Yes, because search data from Google Workspace apps – by the way, have you read about the Gmail revamp and free migration for G Suite users? – they will have the new dedicated setting which is officially described as follows:
When this setting [Google Workspace search history] is enabled, you see suggestions from your history as you type your search text. It allows you to easily research searches you have already done.
The data in question will include those of Gmail, Google Drive, Google Calendar and Google Currents, but also visits to Workspace websites (such as Google Cloud and Google Sites). Other services will however be added to the list in the future.
Like all the other settings, also with regard to the search history of Google Workspace Big G points out that “ The data of the Google Workspace search history is automatically deleted after 18 months. However, users can set data deletion after 3, 18, or 36 months or never.
In any case, Mountain View are keen to emphasize that user data is never used in the main services of Google Workspace for advertising purposes. The news will be active for all users starting March 29, 2022, when the Web and App Activity setting of the Admin console will be retired and a new setting will be enabled by default for all users: the Google Workspace search history.
There will be no possibility for administrators to change this setting, while users will be able to disable it by entering Google – My activities> Other Google activities> Google Workspace search history. For more details on this change and for answers to frequently asked questions, you can visit this official support page.