How to Know If Someone Accessed Your Google Accounts

Being lax about the security of your Google account can prove costly. Keep regular tabs on your account activity via Google Dashboard. Here’s how you can set up a monthly reminder for that.

Open your Gmail inbox, click on your profile picture at the top right, and then on the My Account button in the popup. You should now see your Google account page.

Next, click on Account overview in the Personal info & privacy column. This loads a new page with the Account overview section highlighted. Click on the View Dashboard link there, and enter your Google password if prompted, to visit your Google Dashboard.

The dashboard shows you at a glance your most recent account activity across all of Google’s products. This is the section that you need to monitor on a regular basis.

Check the box next to Send me monthly reminders to check my account activity at top of the Dashboard page and you’re all set. Google will now remind you every month to visit the dashboard and check your account activity for anomalies.

Of course, the dashboard might make you sit up and take notice of just how much Google knows about you. Rattled by that data? Maybe it’s time to reclaim some privacy, if there’s such a thing left in the digital world.

If you're an active user of Google products, Google dashboard is a reminder that Google is your "Personal IT Department".

— Jeremiah Owyang (@jowyang) November 5, 2009

How often do you check your Google dashboard? Have you ever noticed any suspicious activity that forced you to take the security of your account more seriously?

Image Credit: Hand with reminder sticky note by Art_Photo via Shutterstock