Google Now cards have been useful to me on a personal level on more than one occasion, but there's no denying that they can also feel weird at times. Like getting a notification telling you it's time to leave for the airport for your flight or catch a movie. It may seem like Google is sneaking up on your emails, but hey, they already know more about you anyway.
Earlier in 2015, Google teamed up with other partners to bring you relevant and useful information directly to your Google Now screen, based on your search habits. It can also be in-app maps, but how do you keep track of it all?
It's all in the settings
Long press the Home key on your Android to access the Google Now cards screen. Swiping from left to right, you will be able to see the Settings option. These are the main Google search parameters, so dive right in there.
Once here you can see a dedicated section for Now Maps , clicking on it will open other options. Here you will see the option to click Manage Card History which opens your entire Now Card history in a browser.
Delete history
In this browser window, you can see all of your Google Now card history, but not in detail. If you want to delete history for a particular date, check the box next to Today or any other day.
If you want to bulk delete, tap the three-dot menu in the top right corner and select Delete options. Here you can select cards from today, yesterday or the last 4 weeks, or even from the beginning.
Caution here: Removing Google Now cards may affect future Google Now suggestions. So be careful when deleting your history.
Date management
If there's a history from a particular day that you want to get rid of, tap the calendar icon right next to the three-dot menu. Once the full calendar opens, you can select the date you want to see the Now Cards history.
Please note: You can only view Google Now card history here, not delete it.
The search works, but..
And right next to the calendar icon is the search bar. Yes, it works, but only in such a way that Google Now cards are displayed here in this browser window. So if you search for "flight" none of your cards will show up, but if you search for "travel" you also get all the necessary card history for flights and other modes of transport.
Other terms like Time work fine, but why would you want to delete that information anyway? In fact, looking up the weather on a particular day wherever you are in the world is a nice perk of Google Now cards.
Practice or curse?
I know it can sound scary at times, but Google Now cards are extremely useful. The steps above give you more control over your Now card history, but there's not much else you can do. If you value your privacy more than anything, do not sign up for this service at all.
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