How to Opt Out of Google Search Personalization
Patrick Bushe
June 11, 2025 · 5 min read
Google shapes some of your results with your past searches and activity. You can turn that off for good, or see one search without it. You can't switch off everything, though: location and language always play a part.
Turn off personalized results
- Open Google's search settings (the Settings link at the bottom of google.com, then Search settings), signed in to your Google Account.
- Find the personalization option, labeled Personal results or Search personalization depending on your account, and turn it off.
Your results will no longer use your past activity, though you'll still see ones based on where you are.
See one search without personalization
On some results pages, Google shows a Try without personalization link near the bottom (in other languages it's translated, for example "Coba tanpa personalisasi" in Indonesian). Click it to rerun the search without your activity. Your setting stays as it was.
Stop Google from saving your searches
Personalization comes from your saved activity. To cut it off at the source:
- Go to
myactivity.google.comand open Web & App Activity. Turn it off, or set an auto-delete period such as 3 months. - Delete past searches from the same page, by day or all at once.
- Turning off Web & App Activity also affects other Google services, such as suggestions in Maps and the Google app.
Does Incognito remove personalization?
Partly. In Incognito you're signed out, so your account history isn't used. Google still uses your approximate location from your IP address, your language and the device type, so results aren't the same for everyone. For a quick look at less personalized results, Incognito works. To change your normal results, use the settings above.
Other things that shape your results
- Location: Google estimates where you are from your IP address and, if you allow it, your device's location. You can't fully turn this off, and local searches depend on it.
- Language and region: set in search settings. Changing the region shows results as seen from another country.
- SafeSearch: filters explicit results, and is on by default for some accounts.
Changing what's on the page too
Turning off personalization doesn't change the layout of results: AI Overviews, People Also Ask, ads and shopping boxes still appear. Search Cleaner can hide those sections. For more ways to shape what you see, see how to customize your Google results.
