Earlier this week, Google announced that users would be able to track and monitor their own internet usage patterns for search and the full range of Google platforms, including YouTube, while signed into their Google account.
According to Google product manager Andreas Tuerk, “Sometimes it’s helpful to step back and take stock of what you’re doing online.” The “Account Activity” feature will be expanded to include more Google services in the future, and Google is touting it as a way to monitor your own activity, and potentially identify signs of compromised accounts.
For example, if the feature showed that your account had been accessed from a country you didn’t live in, or a device you didn’t own.
Password Protection & Tools
The services isn’t included by default in any account, and must be signed up for, after which users will be provided with a password protected link, as well as various tools to help them manage the privacy of their account.
The changes are, according to Google, designed to improve user experience across the products, and (perhaps crucially) give the firm a more integrated view of its users.
Of course, companies that use Google Accounts could take advantage of this feature by keeping tabs on what their employees are doing online too, if they wanted to.