Google search history can now be downloaded in its entirety, mass embarrassment expected

Tool gives access to everything you have ever Googled

Everyone can now download their entire Google history, getting everything they’ve ever searched as a comprehensive document.

To do so, you can just head to Google’s Account History page, click on the cog in the top-right-hand corner and then click “Download”.

When you do so, Google gives you a series of warnings that it says are “not the usual yada yada”. It makes clear that the archive contains sensitive data and that users should be sure they want to access it.

When that step is passed, Google will collect the data and tell users when it is ready. They are given access to their entire history as a searchable database, organised by quarter. It is stored on Google Drive and can be downloaded as a .zip file.

Google gives access to the downloadable data as part of its “Takeout” policy. That allows users to download their own data through a special folder in Google Drive, allowing them to keep hold of it if they leave the service.

The tool was noted last week by the unofficial Google Operating System blog.

The search history page also gives access to your full history online, allowing users to look through everything they’ve ever searched for while they were logged in. It also gives the data that it has gathered in the form of charts and trends, working out when you’ve searched most often and what your favourite sites are, among other things.