How to disable Discover

Lately, you often use the Google app on your smartphone, as it has some very useful features. Despite this, the app in question also integrates some services that you would like to disable: in particular, you do not like Discover, an option that automatically shows news and content based on the user’s interests.

Having failed to disable this feature independently, you have done some research on the web for more information about it, ending up straight on this guide of mine. That’s the way it is, am I right? So do not worry: in the next paragraphs of this tutorial, in fact, I will explain how to disable Discover by providing you with all the information you need to succeed in your intent.

In addition to the detailed procedure for disabling the display of news proposed by Discover, you will also find instructions to manage and possibly delete the data collected by Google relating to Discover. Happy reading and good luck for everything!

Index

• Preliminary information
• How to disable Discover from Android
• How to disable Discover from iPhone / iPad

Preliminary information

Before going into the details of this tutorial and discovering how to disable Discover, it might be useful to know what the service in question is for and, above all, what its deactivation entails.

Google Discover (not to be confused with Chrome Articles for You ) is a feature integrated into the Google app for Android and iPhone / iPad devices that allows you to get personalized news and content based on your research activity and interests.

In fact, using special algorithms, Discover is able to “remember” the videos the user has watched on YouTube, which articles read on the web, what information (eg. Sports scores, current affairs etc.) Has tried to Google, what were the voice searches made through Google Assistant and much more.

On the basis of all the activities and information collected, articles that may be of interest to the user are automatically chosen and shown in the main screen of the Google app, the same from which it is possible to make new searches on the web.

This feature can be easily disabled at any time from the Google app settings and, by accessing its main screen, the news has automatically shown based on your interests will no longer be visible. Find everything explained below.

How to disable Discover from Android

The procedure to deactivate Discover Google is simple and fast: all you have to do is access the settings of the Google app and disable the option that allows you to receive news based on your interests.

To proceed, take your Android device, launch the Google app and, first, make sure you are logged in with the Google account of your interest. Once this is done, press on the Discover option located in the bottom menu: if you see some news under the Google search bar, it means that Discover is active.

On the same screen, by pressing the three dots icon relating to a single news item, you can choose to hide it, not to show other news related to the same topic and/or to block the website that published the article. Furthermore, by pressing the Follow button relating to the topic shown on the screen, you can indicate to Discover that you are strongly interested in news of that specific topic which, consequently, will be shown more frequently in the appropriate section of the Google app.

If, on the other hand, you are willing to permanently disable Discover, press on the Other option located in the menu at the bottom and, in the new screen displayed, tap on the Settings item. Then access the General section, locate the Discover item and move the relative lever from ON to OFF, to disable Google Discover. If everything went well, pressing again on the Discover option located in the bottom menu, you should no longer see any news.

Keep in mind that the procedure I have just indicated only allows you to deactivate Discover, that is, no longer show any article on the main screen of the Google app. This means that your activities will continue to be collected and stored.

To view and possibly hide the activities saved in Discover, press on the More option, select the Settings and Interests items and tap on the My interests option. In the new screen that appears, in the section Based on your activity, the topics and activities collected are listed, which are then shown on Discover. To hide a single topic or activity, click on its circle icon.

How do you say? Would you like to permanently delete the information collected by Google and show it on Discover? In this case, start the browser you usually use to browse the web (eg Chrome ) and connect to the myactivity.google.com page.

Once this is done, click on the Filter by date and product option, put the checkmark next to the Discover option, select the time interval of your interest ( From the beginning, Today, Yesterday, Last seven days, Last 30 days and Custom ) via the Filter by date drop-down menu and tap the Apply button, to view all the information collected by Discover regarding the selected date range.

Finally, to delete all the activities in question, select the Delete option twice in a row and that’s it. If you wish, you can also prevent Google from continuing to collect your activity by turning off Web & App Activity. Speaking of which, my guide on how to clear Google activity may be helpful.

How to disable Discover from iPhone / iPad

As I mentioned in the opening lines of this guide, Discover is also available in the Google app for iOS / iPadOS. Also in this case, it is possible to disable this functionality by acting from the settings of the app in question.

To proceed, then take your iPhone / iPad, start the Google app by tapping its icon (the colored “G” on a white background ) and, if you have not already done so, log in with your Google account: press, then, on the little man icon located at the top right, tap the Login button, enter your Google account data in the Email address or phone number fields and enter the password and press the Next button.

At this point, tap on the Homepage item located in the bottom menu and, if you want to customize the Discover options, tap on the three dots icon relating to a single news shown on the screen.

To disable Discover, instead, press on your photo, at the top right, select the Settings option from the opened menu and press on the General item. In the new screen that appears, move the lever for the Discover option from ON to OFF and you’re done.

Again, by accessing the General section of the Google app and then selecting the Interests and Your interests options, you can view and possibly follow/hide the topics and activities stored by Discover. To delete this information, however, it is necessary to proceed from the browser (eg Safari ) by connecting to the myactivity.google.com page: the procedure is identical to what I indicated above to do it from an Android device.