Every major platform now has a privacy dashboard. They are not hidden anymore, but they are not the first thing you see either, and the defaults still tilt toward collection. This is a focused walk-through of the privacy settings on Google, Apple, and Facebook that move the needle most on what these companies know about you. Nothing here breaks anything, each platform takes under fifteen minutes, and the result is a calmer, less-surveilled experience you barely notice day to day.
Google privacy settings
Google sits at the centre of more of your data than any other consumer company, and almost all of it is controllable from one place: myaccount.google.com, under Data & Privacy and Security.
Turn off ad personalization
Under Data & Privacy, open “My Ad Centre” and switch off personalized ads. You still see ads, just not ones targeted from your profile.
Pause activity tracking
“Web & App Activity” is the most invasive — it logs searches, voice, and many in-app actions. Pause it, and pause “Location History” and “YouTube History” if you do not need them. Set auto-delete to 3 months for what you do keep.
Review connected apps
Under Security, “Your connections to third-party apps” lists everything granted access — often forgotten sign-ups. Revoke what you do not use; it directly cuts your exposure if any of those third parties is breached.
Two-factor and passkeys
Turn on two-factor authentication and add a passkey. Your Google account is the recovery channel for much of your life, so treat it as high-value — and if it is ever caught in a leak, here is what to do first.
Sign out inactive sessions
Under Security, “Your devices,” remove anything you no longer use — old phones, sold tablets, stale browsers stay signed in until you say otherwise.
Apple privacy settings
Apple’s defaults are stronger than most, but a few switches are worth flipping. Manage them on-device or at privacy.apple.com.
Mail Privacy Protection
Mail, Privacy Protection, turn on “Protect Mail Activity.” It hides your IP and proxies remote content so tracking pixels cannot tie an open to your location. In the built-in Mail app, this one switch defeats most email tracking.
App Tracking Transparency
Privacy & Security, Tracking — turn off “Allow Apps to Request to Track” so apps cannot even ask to follow you across other apps.
Apple Advertising and Location
Turn off “Personalized Ads” under Apple Advertising. Then review Location Services: “While Using” or “Ask Next Time” is right for almost everything; reserve “Always” for the rare app that truly needs it.
Hide My Email and Advanced Data Protection
With iCloud+, “Hide My Email” generates forwarding aliases for sites you are unsure about. And under iCloud, turn on Advanced Data Protection for end-to-end encryption of almost everything — write down the recovery key first, because Apple cannot reset it.
Facebook privacy settings
Facebook collects in-app, via pixels across the web, and through partnerships. You cannot stop all of it from the settings panel, but you can shut most explicit pipelines.
Off-Facebook Activity
Under “Your Facebook information,” open “Off-Facebook Activity,” clear the history, and turn on “Disconnect future activity.” This is the single highest-impact Facebook setting.
Ad preferences
Turn off “Ads based on data from partners” and activity-based ads seen elsewhere, then prune the interest categories Facebook assigns you.
Sessions, apps, and visibility
Sign out of old devices under Security and Login. Disconnect unused third parties under Apps and Websites. Set “Who can look you up by email / phone” to Friends or Only Me to close a common doxxing route.
The cross-platform habit
These are platform-specific, but they reinforce one habit: actively limit what each service can collect. Two more make the package stronger. First, use a temporary email for the dozens of small sign-ups that do not deserve a lasting relationship — every site you skip is one less profile out there. Second, revisit these dashboards every six months, because defaults drift and new features quietly opt you in.
What changes after you do this
You will not notice anything right away — apps work, searches return, feeds scroll. What changes is behind the scenes: each profile stops growing, the cross-app ad network has less to use, and any single breach exposes less history. A year from now, when the news nudges you to “do something about privacy,” you open a dashboard, see your settings still in place, and close the tab without anxiety.