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Your Google account is a treasure trove of personal data, and it's essential to know how to control it. You can access your Google account settings to review and manage your data, including your search history, location history, and activity controls.
Google allows you to delete your search history, which can help maintain your online privacy. This can be done by going to the Google account settings and selecting "Delete a service or your account."
You can also opt out of Google's data collection by turning off location history and activity tracking. This can be done in the Google account settings under "Data & personalization."
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Account Security
Account Security is a top priority when it comes to protecting your Google account. You should definitely configure a recovery email address to allow you to reset your password if you forget it or if your account is hacked.
Gmail uses transport layer security (TLS) to automatically encrypt emails sent and received, and you can check if a message is encrypted by looking for a closed or open red padlock on the web or on Android devices. This helps keep your emails private and secure.
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Google also scans all incoming and outgoing emails for viruses in email attachments, and some file types, including executables, are not allowed to be sent in emails for security reasons. This helps prevent malware from spreading and keeps your account safe.
If you're concerned about account security, you can opt-in to Google's Advanced Protection Program, which requires you to purchase two U2F USB keys for identity verification. This adds an extra layer of security to your account, including restrictions on which applications can access your account.
Two-step verification is also an optional additional measure for users to protect their accounts when logging in. You can use a code sent to your mobile phone, a code generated by the Google Authenticator app, or a physical security key to verify your identity.
To ensure you can recover access to your Google account, you should configure a recovery email address and periodically check that you can still receive email sent to that address. This is a crucial step in case you ever need to regain access to your account.
Here are some key steps to take to secure your Google account:
- Configure a recovery email address.
- Periodically ensure that you can still receive email sent to your recovery email address.
- Enable two-step verification for an extra layer of security.
- Consider opting-in to Google's Advanced Protection Program for added security.
Data Storage and Management
Gmail was launched with one gigabyte of storage space in 2004, a significant increase from competitors at the time.
You can control what data gets saved to your account using Activity Controls, allowing you to pause specific types of data from being saved, such as Search and browsing activity or Location History.
Google has consistently increased storage space over the years, with the limit doubling to two gigabytes in 2005 and later increasing to four gigabytes in 2007.
Auto-Delete is available through Activity Controls, giving you more control over your data.
As of 2021, storage of up to 15 gigabytes is included with your Google account, and paid plans are available for up to 2 terabytes for personal use.
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Third-Party Encryption
Google's Transparency Report reveals that a significant portion of emails between Gmail and third-party email providers are encrypted in transit. This is a reassuring fact for users concerned about data security.
In fact, Google provides information on the percentage of emails encrypted in transit under the Safer email section of its Transparency Report. This transparency is a testament to Google's commitment to user data security.
Encryption in transit helps protect emails from being intercepted or accessed by unauthorized parties. This is especially important when sending sensitive information over the internet.
Google's Transparency Report offers a glimpse into the security measures taken by the company to safeguard user data.
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Data Storage Control
You can control what data gets saved in your Google account using Activity Controls. This feature allows you to decide what types of activity are tied to your account to personalize your experience across Google services.
You can pause specific types of data from being saved, such as your Search and browsing activity, YouTube History, or Location History.
Auto-Delete is also an option, but it's not explicitly mentioned in the provided article section facts. However, we can talk about storage limits instead.
Gmail was launched with one gigabyte of storage space in 2004, a significantly higher amount than competitors offered at the time.
The storage limit was doubled to two gigabytes in 2005, and then increased to 4 gigabytes in 2007.
In 2012, Google announced that storage included in Gmail would increase from 7.5 to 10 gigabytes, with the promise of "and counting."
Today, you get 15 gigabytes of included storage among Gmail, Google Drive, and Google+ Photos.
There are also storage limits to individual Gmail messages, which were initially set at 25 megabytes for both sending and receiving emails.
In 2017, the limit for receiving emails was increased to 50 megabytes, while the limit for sending emails remained at 25 megabytes.
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Privacy and Settings
Your Google Account is a hub for all your Google services, making it easy to find and access your settings. You can tap on your profile picture in Search, Maps, YouTube, Gmail, and Assistant to access your account.
Google has created easy-to-use tools like Dashboard and My Activity to give you transparency over data collected from your activity across Google services. This way, you can see exactly what data is being collected and make informed decisions.
You can find all your key information, privacy, and security settings in your Google Account. This includes powerful privacy controls like Activity Controls and My Ad Center.
Taking the Privacy Checkup is a great way to review and adjust your settings. It only takes a few minutes to choose what types of data are saved to your Google Account, update what you share with friends or make public, and adjust the types of ads you'd like to see.
Google has one privacy policy that covers all of its services. This policy ensures that sensitive information, such as race, religion, sexual orientation, health, or sensitive financial categories, is not used to target ads.
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Google Account Features
Google Account Features are designed to make your online experience more seamless and secure. You can access Google Drive to store and share files up to 750 GB in size.
With Google Account Features, you can also use Google Photos to store and organize your photos and videos, with unlimited storage for photos and videos up to 16 megapixels and 1080p resolution.
Google Account Features also include Google Calendar, which allows you to schedule appointments and events and set reminders to ensure you never miss a deadline.
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Integration with Google
Google's integration of its products with Gmail has been a significant aspect of the service's evolution. Gmail was integrated with Google+ in December 2011, allowing users to access all their Google information from a single account.
In May 2013, Google announced the integration between Google Wallet and Gmail, enabling users to send money via email attachments. The feature has no transaction fees but comes with limits on the amount that can be sent.
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Google Trips, an app released in September 2016, automatically generates travel cards based on Gmail messages. The app also has offline functionality and can scan Gmail for bus and train tickets.
The integration of Google products with Gmail has been a key factor in the service's growth, with over one million calls logged in 24 hours after the release of the Google Voice in Gmail chat feature.
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Google Workspace
Google Workspace is a business-focused offering from Google that includes Gmail with some fantastic features. You can get email addresses with your company's domain name, like @yourcompany.com.
One of the benefits of Google Workspace is its guaranteed uptime. You'll get 99.9% uptime with zero scheduled downtime for maintenance.
Your storage options are also convenient, with either 30 GB or unlimited storage shared with Google Drive, depending on your plan.
If you need help, Google Workspace offers 24/7 phone and email support.
If you want to integrate Gmail with other email providers, you can synchronize it with Microsoft Outlook and other email providers.
You can also add third-party apps to Gmail using the Google Workspace Marketplace.
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