** DISCOVER YOUR ENTIRE GOOGLE SEARCH HISTORY **
par Albertine Meunier
** STEPS FOR THE FULL EXTRACTION OF YOUR GOOGLE SEARCH HISTORY ** // Version #4 //
This little exercise is totally disorienting… It’s strange, but when I view my Google Search History on Google’s website, nothing bothers me. I feel perfectly at home. Google wants us to think that it’s so cool, it couldn’t be any better.
But when I produce the data using your tool, it’s very different. The raw data jumps out at me. And in my case—but probably in all cases—it’s quite disturbing.
Charles, November 2012
STEP 2 - Select only My Activity . Use the "Select None" buttin to unselect all and select only My Activity
STEP 3 - Follow the instructions to download your Google Activity
You can download the archive MyActivity
STEP 4 - Save the file on your computer
Unzip it
STEP 5 - If you want to retrieve your searches text, images or maps done on Google, you first have to create and prepare the file that you will drag and drop in the dedicated area in step 6.
Double-click "My Activity.html" in the "Search" folder, select all with Ctrl-A then Copy Ctrl-C and then Paste Ctrl-V into a text file. Save it as search.txt.
It is this file that you will drag and drop in the dedicated area to step 6.
Do the same with Image_Search and Maps if you want them too..
STEP 6 - Drag and drop your files "search.txt", "image.txt", "maps.txt" in the dedicated area then Validate You don't know how to drag and drop in the area, look a this video
Drag and drop hereyour "search.txt" file
Drag and drop hereyour "image.txt" file
Drag and drop here your "maps.txt" file
STEP 7 - Your can read the story of your life though these Google searches
Your all searches will automatically appear below and in the downloaded file "your-google-search-history.txt"
< ici >
Étape 8 - If you are persistent, one day, you may:
* have your very own Google Search History book! like Albertine!
* publish your Google history online as an open personal data and create all together a Google searches marketplace
* create nice things with them...
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Recover your own data on Google, a real saga
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In 2006, Google launched the Web Search History function and began saving users’ search criteria. Once this function is activated, all your Google searches are accumulated and stored. The interface allows you to view your search history month by month, day by day, but doesn’t reveal the accumulation or quantity of data stored.
From 2006 to 2009, the only way to extract your own data was by successively copying and pasting, search after search.
In August 2009, Google launched the Data Liberation Front. That made it possible to extract from your search history the 999 last actions stored, including searches and links clicked.
Therefore, frequent extractions are required in order to retrieve all your data. (#v1 program)
On 21 March 2013, Google suspends the possibility of extracting a tiny bit of its data Web History. By blocking this feature, Google makes it impossible to extract research data, even meanly.
In April 2013, Julien Kirch talented developer, created to albertine a program to recover a block all its history. (#v2 program)
On April 20, 2015, great event! For any person holding an account, Google decides to authorize the download of the whole of its own research, in files in .json format, organized by quarter.
The file format is totally unreadable for a human "normal" (.json format), Albertine proposes, thanks to Tristan Savina a talented developer of Recover your Google search history in a readable format (#v3 program) .
Between September 2017 (last use of the # V3 program) and February 7, 2018 (when Albertine noticed the change), Google changes again the format for the extraction -Takeout- searches and returns to the Stone Age by offering a html format.
Albertine asks a new time Tristan Savina, a talented developer, to adapt the program to retrieve her own research in a txt format.
