2.9 Ensure 'YouTube Watch History' is set to Disabled

Information

Disable storing YouTube Watch History to your account.

Note: This setting is applicable only for Google Pixel range of devices.

Rationale:

Turning on YouTube Watch History setting links and stores all your watched YouTube
videos to your account from any device. Also, this influences the recommendations that you
see on your YouTube homepage when you are logged-in and other YouTube video
recommendations. This could be privacy-invasive and hence it is recommended to disable
this setting.

NOTE: Nessus has not performed this check. Please review the benchmark to ensure target compliance.

Solution

Follow the below steps to disable YouTube Watch History setting:

1. Tap Settings Gear Icon.
2. Tap Google.
3. Scroll to the Services section.
4. Tap Search.
5. Scroll to the Search section.
6. Tap Accounts & privacy.
7. Tap Google Activity Controls.
8. Toggle YouTube Watch History setting to Off position.

Impact:

You might not get personalized user experience.

Default Value:

By default, YouTube Watch History setting is enabled.

See Also

https://workbench.cisecurity.org/files/2076