Google Search app gets delete function and Photos gets locked folder

Google is adding a feature to its mobile Search app that allows users to clear the last 15 minutes of their activity. A few other apps are also getting their own privacy features, including locked folders in Photos and a location history toggle in Maps.

Google Search is getting a toggle that allows users to clear the last 15 minutes of their search behavior. The company announced the feature at its I/O developer conference on Tuesday evening. The company also said that the Photos app will now have a locked folder. Users can place photos in it, which they can then lock with a password or with biometrics. It’s not about an extra layer of encryption, it’s just about locking.

Google is also going to show more details about app behavior on the privacy dashboard. From now on, that section of the Google app will show exactly which apps use a certain function, and when. For example, users can see when an application last requested the camera or location information.

Location data is generally adjusted. In Maps comes a new toggle that allows users to turn off their location history right away. In addition, Android will now distinguish between the precise location and an approximate location. Applications like Maps need the former for proper navigation, while a weather app only needs to know roughly where a user is.