It is very important to keep our account safe. Have you ever thought about how many important details, pictures, files, contacts, text messages, search history, location history are stored in a Google account or not?
Whether you use Google for business or personal purposes, you always want to keep all the information under your control.
But the password you set years ago cannot protect such a precious asset. Therefore, today we are telling you about some measures, which will help you to keep your account safe.
1. Check the password
The password is based on your name, birthday, residential address, or anything else that you can easily find out by Googling. Is your password based on simple words or an easily guessed pattern? Is it less than eight letters? Or do you use the same password to log into any other website, app or service?
If your answer to these questions is positive, then change your password immediately. For this, you set a long and complex password that cannot be detected from your personal information.
2. Give your Google Account a second layer of protection
No matter how strong your Google account password is, there is always a chance that your account will be hacked. You can keep this virtual asset safe if you enable ‘Two Factor Authentication’ on your account. By using two factor authentication, it prevents the Google account password from being hacked even if someone else knows it.
3. Make sure you are ready to confirm your identity
If any suspicious activity is detected in your account, Google asks you to verify your identity before signing in. If you do not check your account verification settings, there is a chance that you may lose the necessary information after some time.
Open the Google Account Security site. There is a section that says – How to describe yourself. It has two options, Recover Your Phone and Recover Your Email.
If the information given in these options is not correct for now, click on it and update it immediately. After this we can reach the next level of our Google account security.
4. See if your account has access to third party services
When you set up an app on your phone or computer that interacts with Google, those apps get access to your Google Account data to some extent.
Depending on the situation, it determines whether or not the app can see your activity within Google services. These apps can view your Gmail, Google Calendar, Google Drive or even your entire Google Account.
To see which apps have access to your information, visit the Google Third-Party App Access Overview. And from there see the list of connected services. If you see an app or service there that you don’t use, remove it. If it’s an app you use and go with, you may not need to remove it.
5 Also review the devices you have access to with your account
You may have set up your Google account multiple times on some devices. Once you have connected your account at the system level, the system on that device can access your account.
You can stop it too. For that, go to Google’s device activity page. You see a device there, which you don’t use or recognize. If so, go to the menu with three dots and go to Sign out of your account.
6. View app permissions or permissions on your phone
There are many things to note about the app. If you are using Android, there are some system level permissions. For example, if it is related to contacts and calendar, it can also access the data area in your Google account. Google Contacts and Google Calendar synchronize data between your phone and the cloud
Go to the privacy section of the phone’s system settings. There is a line called ‘Promission Manager’. But this word is different according to the Android version. There you can see various commissions. You can see which apps are able to access your account. You can also cancel the commission after double tapping.
7. See Extension permissions in the browser
Extensions added to desktop Chrome have the potential to enhance your browser capabilities. But it can put your privacy at risk.
So check the settings of each extension you install. Otherwise, all your browsing activity inside Chrome may be being shared with an outside company.
For this you go to your browser address bar and type chrome extension and click on the detail box of all the extensions on the page. Now you see site access there. Consider what level of access you are giving and decide whether it is necessary or not.
8. Remove unnecessary mobile apps and browser extensions
s
Remember how many apps or browser extensions you have installed on your phone or laptop. Will they all work? Some apps that you have allowed in your Google Account can hack your password. If you don’t use it, it’s better to remove it for safety reasons.
9. Set up or confirm a virtual Google Will
Creating a virtual will in your Google account is very good. Google has a simple system to manage it. For this, open the inactive account manager. There you can find tools to determine what might happen if your account has been inactive for a while.
You can fix some months there. Or you can specify the time for which you will not log in to your Gmail. It also contains phone number and email address.
Google will contact you if someone tries to open your account. Then you can give any email address to Google. In which Google will send a notification.
10. Think of Google’s Advanced Protection Program
Google’s Advanced Protection program may not be right for everyone. But for some Google users, it can be a great achievement. Google provides elevated form of account security to users who are at high risk of attack. It is called Advanced Protection Program. It enforces heavy duty restrictions to prevent anyone from gaining access to the Google account. But it also makes it difficult for you.
Its main feature is that physical security is required to sign in for the first time on any new device. In addition to the password, two factor authentication is also required. The phone may have a built-in authentication key or a stand-alone dongle.
