Security and privacy are the main areas of focus for any technology company in the industry and they will remain to be for the rest of advancements. Companies like Google, Facebook and Apple are always under scrutiny for their security and privacy policies which, to be honest, is a good thing.
Having said that, Google has recently enabled password protection on user’s Web & Activity page for increased protection. Well, basic protection because this was a loophole that allowed anyone using our computers or smartphones or tablets signed in with Google to check where we have been and where we are amongst other things that you wouldn’t want anyone you don’t trust, to know. The Web & Activity page includes other information such as your Google searches, YouTube search history and Google Assistant queries and all of them since the beginning of time unless you have opted to automatically delete this information after a specific duration of time. Without verification, anyone that gets their hands on your device can open the Web & Activity page to know this information.
Thankfully, Google acknowledged this loophole and now lets you password-protect the Web & Activity Page. Simply go to activity.google.com > Manage my Activity verification link> Require Extra Verification option > Save and Enter your password> Confirm and you are good to go!
According to a report by The Verge, if users opt not to add an extra verification link to their Web & Activity, the page will show you all the information related to your search histories on Google and YouTube, location history and much more.
As and when you turn on these settings, anyone who tries to open your Web & Activity will have to verify their identity by entering the password. This way, your information will be safe and secure from untrusted people that use your devices. For instance, a home computer where you have logged in with your Google account.
Other than this, Google saves a ton of data from its users and everyone should know what data that it. The Web & Activity will let you see which exact activity is Google saving and then decide if you want Google to save all that. Anyhow, you can also opt for the auto-delete option where you can set the duration after which you want Google to delete your data automatically.
At Google’s I/O developers’ event, the company introduced a locked photos folder, Android’s new Private Compute Core and also the quick delete option where users can instantly delete all search history of the past 15 minutes while browsing in Chrome. Google is finally taking security and privacy seriously!
