Look through a Google activity export on your device
Your Google Takeout download may include private searches and years of activity. Keep the full archive private. You can use Takeout activity explorer to look through supported activity files on your device. The steps below explain which file to choose; the tool can't read everything in the archive.
1. Download only what you need
In Google Takeout, choose the products you want to inspect. Where it offers a format choice for activity, choose JSON, a text format for stored data. Save the download on a device you control. Check whether that folder automatically shares or uploads files before putting your activity there.
2. Choose one activity file
Extract the archive on your device and open a My Activity JSON file in Takeout activity explorer. The limit is 8 MiB and 50,000 records. The tool can't open the full ZIP or an HTML export. If it refuses the file, keep it private and check Google's export instructions.
3. Find the records you want
Use Search activity, Product and Activity category to narrow the list. From date (UTC) and Through date (UTC) use UTC rather than your local time, so activity near midnight may appear on a different date. Categories only appear when the file supplies them. One record can belong to several products and count toward each.
4. Read the smaller download before sharing
Press Export filtered activity if you need a copy of the selected records. It keeps a summary, activity titles, times, product names, categories and any supplied headings. Other original fields, such as saved links, locations and device details, are left out. Open the actual JSON download. Search text or an exact time can still reveal a private meeting or routine.
5. Share a short example when that is enough
If somebody just needs to understand a problem, try a made-up example or a short excerpt. Personal info redactor can help replace names and other details in the excerpt. Read what's left yourself. A filtered list can still identify people without naming them.
6. Put temporary copies away
Press Clear activity and close the page. Protect any archive you keep and remove temporary extracted or filtered files when you're done. Deleting a download only removes that copy; Google's stored activity has separate account controls.
Good to know
The explorer reads supported records that have titles and times. It can't tell you whether an export is complete or show everything Google holds about you. The file stays in your browser during inspection. Sending the result to somebody else shares the information it still contains.