You probably already know this, but Google has many more tools and features than most of us know about and use. Me included! That's why it's always interesting to discover new options and features that help us get the most out of Google.
That's why today I'm bringing you an article that presents 5 pretty interesting Google security settings in terms of security and privacy. If you don't know them, you should start using them on your account.
Enable two-step verification
You've probably heard of two-step verification. It's a useful, easy-to-enable feature that can definitely boost Google security and your account privacy by adding a second layer of security via a code system on top of password login.
To activate, you must follow the instructions below:
- Connect to your Google account
- In the left panel, click on the tab Safety.
- Scroll down the page and in the area How to sign in to Google, click on the option Two-step validation.
- Follow the steps to activate this additional and relatively essential security to avoid any problems
Turn off Google recording your conversations
When it comes to reconciling the Internet and Protection of private life, it's best to err on the side of caution. So if you use Google Assistant (you know, the one that responds when you say "Ok Google") it's best to delete and disable Google's recording of your conversations.
This way, you won't run the risk of your recordings being saved and anyone with access to your account being able to find out what you're asking Google.
To disable the recording of your conversations by Google, it's very simple:
- Go to the page « My activity » from Google
- In the left menu under the hamburger (the 3 horizontal lines) click on Activity-related commands
- In the new page that opens, in the Web & App Activity section, uncheck the box Include voice and audio activity
Automatically delete search history
Google keeps track of everything you do on its apps or platforms, but you can also automatically delete your browsing history to improve the privacy and security of your account.
To do this, log in to your Google account on Chrome and go to the Google home page:
- Once on this page, click on the option Settings at the bottom right of the screen.
- Click the option Search History
- On the page that opens, you should see in the upper part an option Automatic deletion, click on it
- There you can choose to enable automatic deletion of your search history every 3, 18 or 36 months.
It is also possible to manually delete the search history to do a big clean-up more regularly than every 3 months.
On the Search History page under the Auto-delete option you should see a button Remove. You can then choose to delete today's activities, a custom date range, all activity, or access automatic deletion here as well.
Use Enhanced Browsing Protection on Google Chrome
Another very interesting option to strengthen the protection of your data in Google Chrome is the enhanced protection. This safe browsing option can give you additional protection against malware, risky extensions and phishing. To enable it, you need to do the following:
- Go to Chrome on your computer or phone
- Click the button at the top right with the three dots, then go to Settings.
- Click on the tab Confidentialité et sécurité > Safety
- Then select the option Reinforced protection.
Clear data from Google services you no longer use
While this information is important to keep apps running properly on your devices, there's no need to keep data from Google services you no longer use indefinitely.
Here's how to clear Google app data that you no longer use:
- Connect to your Google account
- Click on the tab Data and privacy, located in the left panel
- Scroll almost to the bottom of the page and locate the frame Download or delete your data
- In this frame, click on Delete a Google service
- Enter your Google password
- Identify services you no longer use and delete them
Article updated on January 10, 2025 by Byothe
