Taking Control: A Comprehensive Guide to Deactivating Google News

Google News, while a powerful tool for staying informed, isn’t for everyone. Some users might find it overwhelming, distracting, or simply prefer to get their news from other sources. If you’re looking to declutter your digital life and remove Google News from your browsing experience, you’ve come to the right place. This comprehensive guide will walk you through various methods of deactivating or minimizing the impact of Google News on your devices and browsers, catering to different user preferences and technical skill levels.

Understanding Your Options: Why Deactivate Google News?

Before we dive into the ‘how,’ let’s briefly explore why you might want to deactivate Google News. The reasons are diverse and personal, including:

• Information Overload: The constant stream of news updates can be mentally exhausting and contribute to anxiety.
• Distraction: Notifications and trending stories can pull your attention away from tasks, reducing productivity.
• Personalized Content Concerns: Some users are uncomfortable with the personalized news algorithms and prefer more curated or diverse news sources.
• Preference for Other Platforms: You might rely on specific news websites, RSS feeds, or social media platforms for your news consumption.
• Simplifying Your Digital Life: Removing Google News can contribute to a cleaner, less cluttered online experience.
• Privacy Concerns: Some users prefer not to have their reading habits tracked by Google.

Regardless of your reason, this guide will help you regain control of your news consumption and tailor your digital experience to your specific needs.

Method 1: Deactivating Google News on the Google News Website and Mobile App

This is the most straightforward method for disabling Google News on its main platforms. While it doesn’t entirely remove Google News from your search results, it does prevent personalized news feeds and notifications.

On the Google News Website (Desktop):

1. Open a web browser of your choice (Chrome, Firefox, Safari, Edge, etc.).
2. Navigate to the Google News website: Go to https://news.google.com.
3. Make sure you are logged in with your google account: You will need to be logged in with the google account that you want to change the settings on.
4. Locate the settings menu: In the top-right corner of the page, you should see a gear icon or three vertical dots. Click on this to open the settings menu. The exact location of this menu may vary depending on Google’s interface updates. Look for an icon that will open settings.
5. Find the ‘Customise’ or ‘Manage Your News Settings’ option: The exact wording may vary. In the menu, search for an option related to settings, customizations, or your Google News preferences. Click on this option.
6. Manage your preferences: You may find that the options presented allow you to manage the topics you are interested in. You can remove all topics of interest to effectively disable the news feed. You may also find further settings that you can configure, including the option to stop personalized updates.
7. Confirm the changes: If prompted, confirm your changes. It is worth noting that changes to the website settings may be applied to multiple devices where you are logged in.
8. (Optional) Explore further options: Depending on the interface, you may find other options for customization, such as muting sources or topics. These can also be used to limit the amount of news that is presented.

On the Google News Mobile App (Android/iOS):

1. Open the Google News app on your Android or iOS device.
2. Make sure you are logged in with your google account: You will need to be logged in with the google account that you want to change the settings on.
3. Locate your profile icon: At the top-right of the app, there should be a profile icon associated with your Google Account. Tap this icon.
4. Open Settings: In the resulting menu, locate the settings option and tap on it to access the Google News app settings.
5. Access News Preferences: Inside settings, you should be able to find an option related to News preferences, customizations, or notifications. Look for a section that allows you to manage your settings or customize your experience.
6. Manage your preferences: Here you may be presented with a number of options to manage. As with the website, you can remove all topics of interest. You may also find further settings that you can configure, including the option to stop personalized updates.
7. Disable Notifications: Within the same settings area, you should be able to locate an option to manage notifications. You should switch this to be completely disabled to ensure that you do not get notifications from the Google News app.
8. Confirm the changes: Ensure that your changes are saved. Usually, these changes are applied automatically, but in some instances, you may be required to confirm your changes.
9. (Optional) Explore further options: Depending on the app’s interface, you might find options to mute certain sources or topics, further tailoring your experience.
10. (Optional) Uninstall the app: You can optionally uninstall the app if you do not want to use it any more and wish to have it completely removed from your device. You can always download it from the appropriate app store if you change your mind in the future.

Important Note: These actions primarily target the Google News service itself. They do not remove news articles from Google search results or other Google services.

Method 2: Customizing Your Google Search Experience

While you can’t entirely eliminate news results from Google Search, you can significantly minimize their presence by customizing your search preferences and using specific search commands.

Using Search Operators:

Google search operators are special commands that help refine your search queries. Here’s how you can use them to exclude news results:

• `-inurl:news`: This operator excludes results that have the word “news” in the URL. For example, searching for `weather -inurl:news` will give you weather information without news websites appearing.
• `-site:news.google.com`: This operator specifically excludes results from the Google News website. Using `your search term -site:news.google.com` will remove all results hosted by Google News.
• `-intitle:news`: This will exclude results that have news in the page title.

You can combine these operators for a more targeted exclusion of news content. For example, `programming languages -inurl:news -site:news.google.com` will filter out news results about programming languages.

Utilizing Google Search Settings:

Google search settings provide some flexibility in how search results are displayed, but they do not offer a specific option to remove news entirely.

1. Open a web browser of your choice (Chrome, Firefox, Safari, Edge, etc.).
2. Go to Google’s homepage: Navigate to https://www.google.com.
3. Login with your google account: Make sure you are logged in with the google account that you want to manage the search settings for.
4. Locate Settings: Look for a ‘Settings’ option which is usually located at the bottom right of the page. Click on ‘Settings’ and then a drop down menu will appear. Select the option that says ‘Search Settings’.
5. Explore the options: The Google search settings page will present you with a number of options to modify how your search results are displayed. You can configure different things here such as the language, region, and filters. There are no explicit options here to remove news results, but you may wish to review the settings for other options that you wish to configure.

Using Browser Extensions:

Several browser extensions can help customize your search results. While there’s no single extension dedicated to removing Google News entirely, some can help filter or block unwanted content:

• Personal Blocklist (by Google): This official extension lets you block specific websites from appearing in your search results. You can use this to manually block news sources that you dislike. Available for Chrome, this is a powerful tool that allows you to curate your search results with precision.
• uBlock Origin: This general-purpose ad blocker can also block specific types of content, including news-related elements. It requires some manual configuration but is highly versatile. Available for all major browsers, uBlock Origin can be a powerful tool for removing unwanted content, such as advertisements, trackers, and even news articles.
• Search Filter: Browser extensions that filter search results based on keywords or URLs can also be used to exclude unwanted news content. While it is not specifically designed to remove all news results, it can be configured to filter these to a specific extent. These tools allow you to filter search results based on keywords, allowing for a customized search experience.

Important Note: Browser extensions may require careful selection and configuration. Read reviews and understand how each extension works before installing them.

Method 3: Adjusting Your Google Account Settings

Google account settings allow for some control over personalized content, though they don’t directly offer a “deactivate Google News” option. However, adjusting these settings can limit how Google News appears in other Google services.

Managing Activity Controls:

1. Open a web browser of your choice (Chrome, Firefox, Safari, Edge, etc.).
2. Navigate to your Google Account settings: Go to https://myaccount.google.com and sign in with your Google account.
3. Go to Data & Personalization: On the left navigation panel, select “Data & Personalization.”
4. Find Activity Controls: Under “Activity controls,” click on “Web & App Activity”.
5. Turn off Web & App Activity: Toggle the switch to disable Web & App activity tracking. Note that this will impact other Google services in addition to Google News.
6. Turn off YouTube History: if you use YouTube and are concerned with how it may impact the data that google has about you, you may also wish to disable YouTube History.
7. Manage Activity: After deactivating Web & App activity tracking you will want to click the option to ‘manage activity’. Then you will want to configure it to delete all previously stored information. If you don’t do this, Google will still know what your previous activity was, even with tracking deactivated.
8. Explore other activity controls: You can also adjust other activity controls, such as location history, to further limit data collection. If you are concerned about the privacy aspects of Google News, it is worth while spending time here and reviewing the options.

Reviewing Personalized Results Settings:

1. Return to Data & Personalization: On the same page as activity settings, select “Data & Personalization.”
2. Find Personalized Ads: Under “Personalization,” locate and click on the “Ad personalization” setting.
3. Turn off Ad Personalization: Toggle the switch to disable personalized ads. This will reduce the likelihood of seeing news related to your browsing history.
4. Manage Ads settings: If you have turned personalized ads off, you may still wish to manage the ads that are presented to you. You can click the option to manage the settings to view these settings. You can use this section to block particular advertisers or adjust the settings.

Important Note: Disabling these settings may limit Google’s ability to personalize your experience, but they do not completely remove news content. These changes will also have an effect on other Google services and features, such as Youtube recommendations.

Method 4: Using Third-Party News Aggregators or RSS Readers

If you’re looking for a complete alternative to Google News, consider using a third-party news aggregator or RSS reader. These tools provide more control over your news sources and may be more customizable to your preferences.

News Aggregators:

Examples include:

• Feedly: A popular RSS reader that allows you to organize and follow your favorite websites.
• Inoreader: Another highly customizable RSS reader with robust filtering options.
• Flipboard: A visually appealing news aggregator that allows you to create curated magazines.

RSS Readers:

RSS readers allow you to follow websites that you wish to follow that support an RSS feed.

• Thunderbird: A free and open source email client that supports RSS feeds.
• NetNewsWire: A free, open-source RSS reader for Mac, iPhone, and iPad.
• Reeder: A popular and well-designed RSS reader for iOS and Mac.

How to Use Them: Once you have installed one of the news aggregators or RSS readers, you will want to import your news feeds. This can be done by manually entering the website URLs, using an OPML file, or importing from another service.

Method 5: The Nuclear Option – Blocking Google News

If you truly want to eliminate Google News from your digital life, you can use network-level blocking techniques. This method will prevent your devices from accessing the Google News website and services, though it is more advanced than the previous options.

Using a Host File:

The hosts file is a local system file that maps domain names to IP addresses. By adding entries to this file, you can block specific websites. This method will work on both Windows and macOS:

1. Locate the hosts file:
   • Windows: The hosts file is located at `C:\Windows\System32\drivers\etc\hosts`.
   • macOS/Linux: The hosts file is located at `/etc/hosts`.
2. Open the hosts file with administrator/root privileges: You will need to open the hosts file using a text editor such as Notepad on Windows or Nano on macOS. You will need to run the text editor with administrator/root permissions.
3. Add the blocking entry: At the end of the file, add the following line:

   127.0.0.1 news.google.com

   This line redirects any requests to `news.google.com` to your local computer, effectively blocking the website. You can also add additional lines with the same format for other Google News related domains, such as `news.google.co.uk`, `news.google.au`, or any other local google news domain that you wish to block.

4. Save the hosts file: Save your modified hosts file. You may need to restart your computer for changes to apply.

Using Router-Level Blocking:

Some routers have built-in features to block specific websites. This method will block Google News for all devices connected to your network:

1. Access your router settings: Open a web browser and enter your router’s IP address (usually 192.168.1.1 or 192.168.0.1).
2. Locate the website blocking or parental control feature: Each router’s interface is different, but you should find a section related to web blocking or parental controls.
3. Add Google News to the blocked list: Add `news.google.com` to the list of blocked websites. You can also add further local Google News domains.
4. Save changes: Apply the changes to your router’s configuration. You may need to restart your router for the changes to take effect.

Important Note: These methods will completely block Google News from your devices or network, but they are more involved and might require some technical knowledge.

Conclusion

Deactivating Google News is a journey that requires choosing the methods that best suit your needs. Whether you prefer a soft approach with settings adjustments or a more decisive one with blocking techniques, this comprehensive guide has provided you with the necessary information and steps to reclaim your digital experience. By carefully choosing the methods that work best for you, you can control your news consumption, minimize distractions, and cultivate a healthier relationship with the constant flow of information.

Remember to adjust the settings and methods as needed, to find what is most effective and comfortable for your own digital preferences. Feel free to experiment to find your own unique balance when it comes to your relationship with news.