Google's Web & App Activity master toggle just lost its grip on Google Play

Google's Web & App Activity master toggle just lost its grip on Google Play Jules Wang / AP By  Karandeep Singh Oberoi Published Jan 30, 2026, 3:13 PM EST Karandeep Singh Oberoi is a Durham College Journalism and Mass Media graduate who joined the Android Police team in April 2024, after serving as a full-time News Writer at Canadian publication MobileSyrup. Prior to joining Android Police, Oberoi worked on feature stories, reviews, evergreen articles, and focused on 'how-to' resources. Additionally, he informed readers about the latest deals and discounts with quick hit pieces and buyer's guides for all occasions. Oberoi lives in Toronto, Canada. When not working on a new story, he likes to hit the gym, play soccer (although he keeps calling it football for some reason🤔) and try out new restaurants in the Greater Toronto Area.  Sign in to your Android Police account Add Us On Summary Generate a summary of this story follow Follow followed Followed Like Like Thread Log in Here is a fact-based summary of the story contents: Try something different: Show me the facts Explain it like I’m 5 Give me a lighthearted recap

Google's Web & App Activity (WAA) toggle is a control that helps Google tailor your experiences across its native services. It saves your activity on some Google services to give you a more personalized experience with faster searches, more helpful apps, content recommendations, and more.

Currently, if you have the setting enabled, Google saves information about your searches and activity on apps like Google Maps, ads you click, assistant interactions, information about your browsing, voice and audio activity, and even your visual search history.

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For many, the WAA feels a bit too much like a one-size-fits-all rule, and for them, some relief is on the way. In an email received by Android Police's News Editor Chandra Steele, Google confirmed that it is decoupling Google Play personalization and activity history from the broader Web & App Activity umbrella. The tech giant also detailed the development in an updated support post.

For reference, up until now, if you wanted the Play Store to remember your searches or recommend 'personalized' apps based on your activity, you had to keep the global Web & App Activity switch flipped on.

Now, Google has updated "settings that manage personalization and activity history on Play. You’ll have dedicated controls for personalization on Play and for saving activity in your Google Account’s Play History, and these settings will be easily accessible in the Google Play menu," reads the tech giant's email.

Your current choice will stick

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This means that going forward, WAA will no longer control Play personalization and Play history. "Instead, you’ll be able to manage those settings directly on Play, and you’ll see this change in your account in the next few days. "

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It's worth noting that Google will retain your current settings. So, if you currently have WAA turned on, then your Play personalization and Play History settings will be on by default. If you have WAA turned off, then Play personalization and Play History will be off by default. Once rolled out, WAA will have no control over your Play Store experience. You can view and change your Play privacy settings in Personalization in Play at any time.

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