How do I hide my game activity from Google?

[Gergely]

Normally I do not mind companies handling my activity data, given I know how to manage my time. I both play video games on steam and watch youtube. I use my gmail address on steam. There is nothing wrong with youtube showing videos related to the games.

The problem is that youtube shows spoilery titles and thumbnails for the games I am currently playing. Whenever I pick up a game like Outer Wilds, Inscryption, TUNIC, Hollow Knight, Rain World and more I have to pay the incognito cost. Telling it I am not interested after the damage is done does not help.

So what are the things I can possibly do about this?

[Crazy Tiger]

It's linked? I've never had suggestions on Youtube related to the games I play, only related to other videos I watched on YT.

[Gergely]

I usually start getting related videos within a day after I start playing. (As opposed to buying the game which appears to have no effect.) I never search for the games directly on youtube.

This happens enough times for the pattern to be noticeable.

[Crazy Tiger]

Publicado originalmente por Gergely:

I usually start getting related videos within a day after I start playing. (As opposed to buying the game which appears have no effect.) I never search for the games directly on youtube.

This happens enough times for the pattern to be noticeable.

Yeah, not happening here, hence the surprise. Might be related to your cookies and such, I guess?

[Iceira]

Are you have a google task in background that is seen as blooatwares, such ways is both seen as help and other see as a pain.

Same as many explan search for something now you get bombardment of same topic.

First step, is use a diffrent search engineer
https://duckduckgo.com/

I'm sure other might know other that do this, but you are not the first, that need google thing for others, and you dont ewant that search data on your own profil. ( not something we as standard user think on here. )

other
https://duckduckgo.com/?q=no+tracking+search+engine&t=ffab&ia=web

[Gergely]

Publicado originalmente por Iceira:

Are you have a google task in background that is seen as blooatwares, such ways is both seen as help and other see as a pain.

Same as many explan search for something now you get bombardment of same topic.

First step, is use a diffrent search engineer

I'm sure other might know other that do this, but you are not the first, that need google thing for others, and you dont ewant that search data on your own profil. ( not something we as standard user think on here. )

I don't think I reveal this information directly to google. I don't use google search, nor even chrome, and I have third party cookies blocked in my browser. I do not have any google software downloaded on my computer.

Well except for one. I have Android Studio installed, because of work but I find a development environment unlikely to be spying on me and I only installed it last month. The problem lived a lot longer than that.

What's left is probably only steam.

[MagicMight]

If I were you I'd experiment by changing my Steam email to a non-google one.

To be clear this is unlikely to be the issue (google gaining data concerning your Steam gaming habits like this sounds far-fetched) but you have to rule out every single variable possible and this is an easy one to test.

[Sigma957]

I block 3rd party cookies and flush the cache daily. I also don't use google services.

[ReBoot]

See if you got Google analytics cookies enabled on Steam. That might be the culprit. I know I got those disabled.

[Iceira]

Try test it with games you have and did not played. ( to see if that now make notification on it. )
do not activated them all, so you can redo test on other titles.


Recheck steam own Preference ( has its change or been forgotten )
https://store.steampowered.com/account/cookiepreferences

[Gergely]

Publicado originalmente por Iceira:

Try test it with games you have and did not played. ( to see if that now make notification on it. )
do not activated them all, so you can redo test on other titles.


Recheck steam own Preference ( has its change or been forgotten )
https://store.steampowered.com/account/cookiepreferences

I looked at most steam options I could find and some of these were turned on. I disabled all of them. I also had a thought it could be Windows itself, so I went over to my Microsoft Account settings and also found a few privacy related that I now have disabled.

Will test whether this works later.

Publicado originalmente por ReBoot:

See if you got Google analytics cookies enabled on Steam. That might be the culprit. I know I got those disabled.

I can't find this.

[ReBoot]

Publicado originalmente por Gergely:

Publicado originalmente por ReBoot:

See if you got Google analytics cookies enabled on Steam. That might be the culprit. I know I got those disabled.

I can't find this.

Your Steam account details page.

[Gergely]

Publicado originalmente por ReBoot:

Publicado originalmente por Gergely:

I can't find this.

Your Steam account details page.

You mean here? https://store.steampowered.com/account/cookiepreferences
I can't find Google analytics cookies. Only the YouTube one.

[Lithurge]

Publicado originalmente por Gergely:

Publicado originalmente por ReBoot:

Your Steam account details page.

You mean here? https://store.steampowered.com/account/cookiepreferences
I can't find Google analytics cookies. Only the YouTube one.

For this purpose it's the same thing, Google own Youtube.

Edit - just to confirm I've got those switched off and don't see Youtube recommendations around games I'm currently playing.

[Iceira]

Hmmm what about our Default browser in the system, if this matter at all.
sense we all might have diffrent view on whats best could be part of the Solutions.

Pretty sure most either have MS edge or Firefox or Chrome, but lets see if that matter here.

[ReBoot]

Publicado originalmente por Gergely:

Publicado originalmente por ReBoot:

Your Steam account details page.

You mean here? https://store.steampowered.com/account/cookiepreferences
I can't find Google analytics cookies. Only the YouTube one.

We are talking YT ads though.