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Basically, I had the Gmail app on my personal mobile. I was on Google doing a search about coming out as gay and I had only searched on Google, not clicked on any pages yet.

I noticed at the bottom of the page that Google had logged me into the Safari app. I was at home on my own Wi-Fi so other than being logged on to my Gmail account, there was no connection to work.

I have now left that employment under bad circumstances and my dad has decided to represent me in a court case.

I am now panicking that my boss can look back and see this/has already seen this and will use it as ammo if it gets to court just to be spiteful.

I am nowhere near ready for this to come out so I am just wondering if they can really see what I do on my personal device on my private Wi-Fi if I was logged into a work Gmail.

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  • That shouldn't be visible to them due to the use of HTTPS, unless you accessed the account later from work devices and your account saves search history, as spyware could get to it, or unless he has administrative access to the account. It is very unlikely he has that data. And you can open your search history and clear it out on Google.
    – Natanael
    Commented Dec 16, 2015 at 20:01
  • He has admin access to the emails. Since i left the password has been changed so i cant get onto it
    – Johnny bean
    Commented Dec 16, 2015 at 20:04
  • webapps.stackexchange.com/questions/52883/…
    – Natanael
    Commented Dec 16, 2015 at 20:23
  • @Johnnybean Is it illegal to be a homosexual in your country?
    – Mark Buffalo
    Commented Dec 17, 2015 at 5:10

1 Answer 1

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If the Google account you were logged in as is now under the control of your boss (as per this question), he can go to his search history page and see all terms that were searched for under that account.

That said, I suspect he probably isn't aware of this, so I wouldn't worry too much. It's a lesser-known feature of Google, and it probably wouldn't occur to him to check it out anyway. I should also point out that, in the unlikely eventuality that he does discover your search history, any attempt to blackmail or leverage you would be a very serious crime in almost any country. You'll likely find that you're protected by anti-discrimination laws, privacy laws, human rights laws, employment law, and a whole range of other legislation at the state, national, and international level.

On a more personal note, I recommend looking up LGBQT charities and advice groups in your area (on a private browsing tab, if you wish) to see if they can provide you with guidance and support in relation to your situation. Stonewall is the biggest advice group in the UK, and It Gets Better is a major US organisation with similar services and goals. They have experience with employment issues, discrimination cases, and the difficulties people face in coming out - they may be able to help put your mind at ease about what you're going through.

Best of luck and I hope it all works out.

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