If you’re a user of Google products, this new feature is something that you might want to consider right now. This whole process will also give you insights as to just how much Google knows about your online activity through all of its tools that you might be using. That will make you want to dive in with two feet.
If you don’t know, everything that you do on Google is stored at myactivity.google.com. If you’re like me, you probably scrolled and scrolled and scrolled and were amazed at everything you’ve done and how Google has it all recorded.
And, if you’re logged in, it’s all out in the open. Anyone who has your computer with you logged into Google can take a look around.
Wouldn’t it be nice to see this when you land on that page?
Thanks to a new protection routine, you can.
If this is your first time here, you should see this popup. Extra verification is good and what we’re looking for.
It’s just a toggle and it seems to me that it’s worth the time and effort to do so. Once enabled, visiting this long listing of your activity is now hidden behind that padlock. If you’re using Google products and you don’t want this information to fall into the wrong hands, it’s worth the minute or so to activate.
The second paragraph serves as a warning that the history is still out in the open in the products directly. I checked my history in the Chrome browser and it’s indeed still there and in the open. No padlock in sight.
It’s a step in the right direction to keep your information secure. I suspect and hope that we’ll see more of this as the concept is received and that controls over the data in individual applications will be forthcoming.
doug --- off the record 