5 Google Account Features You Should Change Now

Creating a Google account is quite simple: just enter your personal information, write down a unique email address, set a password and you’re done. As long as the account is up and running, you’d think there’s no reason to check any other settings – which is fine until you realize how many options Google offers that can make your user experience as personalized or private as you want.

It’s important to know that your Google account controls more than just your Gmail inbox. In fact, you should know that your account manages activity on different services like Google Play and YouTube, as well as security and privacy settings, account recovery options, advertising preferences, information sharing and options to manage how your data can be accessed or deleted.

Depending on how you use your account, some of these settings are worth changing, while others are just worth knowing about. Either way, they give you more control over an account that likely contains years of emails, photos, files, searches, and other personal information. Several useful features are easy to miss, and most of them aren’t buried in the developers’ advanced menus. Either way, exploring these settings is a practical step to take to protect yourself from mistakes that could cost you all your data.

If you’re not sure you’ve covered all the bases in terms of protecting your account data, Google’s Privacy Control is a quick and easy place to start to check how your account personalization settings are configured and what information about you may be made public. You can find this feature by clicking your Google account icon in the upper right corner of most Google apps and sites, then going to Manage your Google account > Data and privacy. Privacy Checkup will typically appear as the first option on this page, potentially titled Privacy suggestions availableand by selecting it, you will discover a checklist of settings that users tend to overlook.

In Privacy Checkup, you’ll find controls related to activity, histories, and personalization of your website and apps. Be sure to read each section carefully and make sure each setting matches your preferences, whether you want to share more data to fully personalize your account or keep your information a little more private. Additionally, it is recommended to perform regular privacy checks to double-check account or app permissions that can help prevent your smartphone from spying on you.

Losing access to your Google account can be a nightmare. In most cases, forgetting your email or password can usually be resolved by correctly answering your security questions or using two-factor verification with another device that you are also signed in to. However, in case you are unable to recall your account username, password or even the answers to your own security questions, Google allows you to regain access to your account with the help of a friend.

You can access this setting by selecting your Google account icon in the upper right corner of most Google apps and websites, then going to Manage your Google account > Security & sign in > Recovery contacts. As long as they have an active Google account that they are signed in to, you can recruit up to 10 recovery contacts who can help you recover your account. However, there are some restrictions to keep in mind: You can’t add Advanced Protection or Google Workspace accounts. If you can’t access the option to add a recovery contact in your own settings page, this means your account is not eligible; but you can still act as recovery contacts for other users.

If you live in a household that keeps a lot of photos and documents, you understand how cloud storage can fill up quite quickly. But instead of each person in the house paying for their own individual Google One plan, you can have a single subscriber invite the rest of the family members to use a hidden Google One benefit that can save everyone a little money.

Anyone who subscribes to a Google One plan with 100 GB or more of cloud storage can be the designated “Family Manager” and add up to five users who can share the subscription benefits. To set this up, open the Google One app and go to Settings > Manage Family Settings > Manage Family Group. Anyone designated as a household subscription manager should be aware that they can only add members who are 13 years of age and older and reside in the same country as them. Additionally, it is also possible to create a supervised account if it is necessary to include a person under the age of 13 in the family account.

Google’s custom ad settings can simply be turned on or off, but the My Ad Center platform offers more control than that. Developed by Google in 2022, it provides an overview of your ad personalization settings, as well as the topics and even brands that Google can use to personalize the ads you see in the future.

It’s up to you to adjust these preferences based on what you’d rather see – or see less of. Additionally, it should be noted that the list of displayed topics is not static; Google may feature different topics and brands over time based on what is relevant or trending. This section is therefore worth revisiting from time to time if personalized ads are enabled. If personalization is turned off, there’s less to fine-tune, but My Ad Center can still be helpful in understanding the data and ad controls available in your account.

It’s true that this is one of the most morbid settings to see under your Google account, but it’s necessary even if it’s easily overlooked. Because when it comes to removing your personal information from the internet, you’ll want to do it in a way that ensures your digital footprint doesn’t reappear and become a zombie account.

While you’re here – happy, healthy and online – it’s best to check your digital legacy settings, found by selecting your Google account icon in the upper right corner of most Google apps and websites, then heading to Manage your Google account > Data & privacy > Develop a plan for your digital legacy. Here you can select trusted contacts who can receive a copy of your account information, decide what data they can access, and set a period of inactivity before Google takes action and deletes your account. Once you configure these settings, Google will send notifications to your registered contacts and regular reminders about your settings in its inactive account manager.