The Google Account is a personal email address that allows you to manage all the services related to the Google ecosystem, organizing the various features from the main screen of the profile. In this way you can integrate with the account the history of web searches, locations recorded by Google Maps, videos viewed on YouTube and quickly authenticate on any compatible platform, both internal such as Google Drive and Play Store, and external such as Amazon and Booking.com.
Google Account: what is it and how it works
Google is increasingly a service provider, not just a search engine. The company from Mountain View, California, provides users with email accounts through Gmail, apps for Android devices on Google Play Store, cloud computing services with Google Drive, extensions for the Chrome browser and integrations with all the other platforms of the ecosystem, including Youtube for video sharing, Waze and Google Maps for GPS navigation and Google Flight for airline flights.
To manage all these services you just need to register an email address, creating an email account with Gmail. In this you can access all the other Google systems, without having to perform the authentication procedure every time. In recent years, the Google account has become an indispensable tool for millions of users, especially for those who use devices with Android and Windows operating systems, however, people who use the services of the bitten apple, for which an Apple ID is required, can also activate a Google account.
How to create a Google account from pc and smartphone
To create a Google account you have to choose an email address, through the Gmail service, a completely free email provider, using up to 25 GB for attachments, 2,000 messages sent per day and 99 recipients to be included in the same email. To create an account from your PC, Windows or Mac OS, just open your browser, click on the Gmail entry at the top right or type the address in the search bar, selecting Create an account.
Then just enter some personal information, such as your first and last name, choose a name for the email address, which can not contain special characters and must end with [email protected], enter a security password and your date of birth, confirming to finalize the operation. Google allows you to enter security features, for the recovery of credentials in case of loss, such as an answer to a personal question, a phone number and an email address of a relative or a friend.
The procedure does not change much from mobile devices, both Android and iOS, in fact you only need to create a Google account following the same procedures, downloading the Gmail app on your smartphone, iPhone, iPad or iPod Touch. In the presence of multiple accounts, for example an email address for work and one for personal needs, it is essential to decide which is the main one, which will be used for authentication with apps and external services.
How to verify a Google account
In some cases it is necessary to verify your Google account, an important operation to always ensure the highest level of security, avoiding identity theft and crime. To do this, Google may send an email, an SMS or make an automated phone call, providing disposable codes OTP, One Time Password, to be inserted to authenticate. In this case, the cost depends on your carrier, however, usually no fees are charged on receiving SMS and other phone services.
To check the main email address, on which all Google service notifications and verification codes will arrive, just open the web search browser, or the Gmail app on your mobile device, click on the profile image and select Google Account. At this point, the general profile screen will open, so you need to choose the personal information item, from the left menu, scroll through the data and check the email address registered under Contact Information.
How to manage your Google account
Managing your Google account is done from the main screen of the platform, which can be accessed by clicking or tapping on your profile image, present in the search page of the Google Chrome browser, in the top right corner. Here just select Google Account and log in.
Inside you are immediately provided with some main information, about security, privacy settings, use of storage space and profile customization.
Clicking on Personal Information, from the menu on the left, you can check and edit the data entered previously, for example adding a new photo for the account, changing the login password, replacing the backup email address, or security phone number. On the other hand, by clicking on Data and Customization, also in the main menu located on the left, you can enable and disable various activities.
Google automatically saves any type of activity, however you can unlink for example web history, which allows you to receive custom search results, the list of GPS locations of your devices, voice notes, audio tracks and YouTube history. To change the status just click on the arrow to the right of the option, moving the selector from On to Off. At the same time you can manage privacy permissions from your Google account, always selecting Data and Personalization and clicking on Check Privacy Settings, Start Now.
For each of the activated features, such as geolocation and history saving, you can open a special window, from which you can for example search for visited places, viewed web pages and YouTube videos. If necessary, you can deactivate features you don’t need, increasing your privacy. For example, by clicking on Manage location history, you can see where you were on a specific date, thanks to the account’s integration with Google Maps and other GPS services.
Another management option concerns your contacts. By clicking on the People and Sharing item in the left menu of the main Google account screen, you can view all your saved contacts, those linked to your personal profile and blocked accounts. At the bottom of the screen are additional features, such as sharing your location or ad recommendations, including a service that lets you choose what information you want to make publicly visible.
How to manage payments and subscriptions with your Google account
In the management of your Google account, you’ll find a record of payments, including services and subscriptions linked to your personal profile. In the Payments and Subscriptions section, within the main account page, you can view your activated payment methods, including bank and postal accounts, credit or debit cards, mobile payments such as Google Pay or a reloadable prepaid card, such as PostePay or N26.
Clicking on the Settings item, on the gear sign, you can check your personal Google ID, which allows you to identify all your payment methods and trace them back to your account, complete with name, surname, address, account type, country of residence and preferred language, enabling, if desired, other users to use your online payment tools. The Purchases section, on the other hand, shows online transactions and home deliveries, including purchases made on Amazon or apps.
Subsequently, it is possible to manage subscriptions with the Google account, while the last section of the screen shows a list of bookings made in recent times. There are several platforms integrated with this system, such as Booking.com and Skyscanner, however Google only provides general information, such as the booking status, date and reference code. To delete an individual entry, simply click on Remove Booking, to permanently remove it from the list.
How to manage the security of your Google account
Since there are countless services and platforms linked to your personal Google account, it is crucial to be cautious and check the security of your profile. Within the main screen, by clicking on the Security item in the left menu, you can manage all the most sensitive features. In the section Google Access you can establish permissions, entering options such as two-step verification or access with your smartphone, or change your personal security password.
At the bottom are the verification contacts, which Google will use if any anomalies occur, so it is important to check them periodically and keep them updated. Next you can see a complete list with all the accesses made, with detailed data about the device, location and date, while another section shows which third-party apps can access your Google account. For example, you may find that WhatsApp can get into Google Drive, or that a Microsoft app has free access to Calendar and Gmail.
Clicking on the manage third-party app access item, you can select an individual service and remove permission, or simply find more information about it. The last two sections of the security department are extremely interesting. The first one is about how you can access other sites, where you can see in how many portals your Google account credentials are used, how many passwords have been stored in your profile, and the permissions you provide Google to access other linked accounts.
The other feature is about Google’s automatic protection, which blocks apps that are considered less secure, including websites while browsing, files to download, and suspicious emails. This prevents you from using dangerous apps and other services that make use of vulnerable technologies that could hide viruses and malware. È fortemente consigliato lasciare questa funzionalità sempre attiva, evitando di rimuovere la protezione, un’operazione che potrebbe compromettere irrimediabilmente la sicurezza del proprio account.
Come proteggere il proprio account Google
Per aumentare la protezione dell’account Google è importante gestire correttamente le varie funzionalità, soprattutto quelle relative alla sicurezza e alle autorizzazioni di accesso ai dati personali. In aggiunta è possibile attivare il servizio di verifica in due passaggi, con il quale oltre alla password viene richiesta l’identificazione con un dispositivo o un token di sicurezza. Per avviare tale procedura basta:
- Entrare nell’account Google selezionare la voce Sicurezza
- Verifica in due passaggi
- Inizia
Poi bisogna scegliere la seconda modalità di autentificazione, fra token , SMS, chiamata o messaggio di Google.
Through SMS you will receive a 6-digit OTP code, to be entered to validate your credentials, with the security token the identification procedure is carried out automatically, while with the Google message you just have to tap on the text authorizing access, a slightly less advanced mode. Otherwise, you can download the Google Authenticator app, which allows you to receive security codes offline as well, speeding up two-step verification.
In any case, it’s crucial to protect your account, avoid using the same password on other platforms and regularly check external apps’ access to your sensitive data.
Come trovare un dispositivo Android smarrito
Un servizio particolarmente interessante, legato al proprio account Google, consente di localizzare un dispositivo Android smarrito o rubato, ad esempio un tablet, uno smartphone o uno smartwatch Android Wear, dotati di un sistema operativo dalla versione Android 8.0 a quelle successive. Per farlo bisogna soltanto scaricare da Google Play Store l’app Trova il mio dispositivo, verificando tra le impostazioni dell’applicazione che siano attive tutte le funzioni, come geolocalizzazione e collegamento dati.
Per controllare l’attivazione dell’app basta:
- Toccare il simbolo dell’ingranaggio
- Entrare in Sicurezza e Posizione
- Selezionare l’applicazione
- Scegliere l’opzione Localizza questo dispositivo da remoto
Inoltre è importante verificare la funzionalità di localizzazione, entrando sempre nelle impostazioni, toccando su Posizione e Attiva. In this way, in case of theft or loss of the device, just go to android.com/find, log into your Google account and locate it in real time.
How to delete and recover a Google account
In case you forget your Google account password, or accidentally delete your personal profile, it is almost always possible to recover your account. To do this, just consult the official guide of Google, at support.google.com, select the problem and follow the step by step process for resolution. The procedures are completely automated, so you’ll be asked for some personal data, such as your date of birth, phone number, a code sent by SMS or a spare email address.
The same way you can recover a recently deleted account, but don’t wait too long, otherwise you might lose a lot of essential information. In this case it would become necessary to create a new Google account, so it is important to move quickly. On the contrary, to delete it, for example because it is no longer used, you just have to:
- Andare nel profilo
- Cliccare su Dati e personalizzazione
- Scarica o elimina i tuoi dati
- Scegliere Elimina un servizio o il tuo account
- Finalizzare selezionando Elimina il tuo account
Per evitare di perdere informazioni importanti bisogna soltanto effettuare un download, prima di finalizzare la cancellazione del proprio account Google.
- Per scaricare i dati desiderati è necessario:
- Entrare nella scherma principale del profilo
- Cliccare sulla voce Dati e personalizzazione
- Trovare la sezione Scarica o elimina i tuoi dati
- Scegliere Scarica i tuoi dati
- Selezionare le informazioni più rilevanti applicando una spunta
- Cliccare su Avanti
- Impostare il formato con cui scaricare i dati, salvandoli su Google Drive, Dropbox, iCloud, Microsoft OneDrive oppure ricevendoli tramite email