Considering how entangled our lives are with the software and services that Google offers, it is quite likely that the search giant knows more about us than we ourselves do. Google Maps, for instance, has information on all places that you have carried your phone to. Many Google apps that you use have access to your messages, photos and videos, and have permission to record you. This undoubtedly makes things easier for you. Who would not like to get traffic updates while leaving for office or be reminded about the change in the timings of one’s flight. But it is an awful lot of personal information at the disposal of a powerful entity, and you might be better off if you have control over what you are telling Google.
Google lets you filter the information that you feed it with. Go to the settings of your device, select Accounts and tap on the Google Account (or log in to your Google account on a browser on a computer). Then select Data & personalisation, and you can see an Activity controls tab. This is the key to most of the data that Google collects from you. You can filter the flow of the data by date or product, or you can entirely switch it off by clicking on the Web & App Activity tab. You can do the same with Location History and YouTube History.
There is an option of downloading all the data that Google has on you before you delete it. Find the Download your data tab under Data & personalisation, and follow the instructions.