When you create a Gmail, Google Plus or other account, you may not know it, but you end up creating a Google account giving you access to all of the American giant’s services. While each service has its own tips, Google Accounts are no exception. Find out how to sign in to multiple accounts simultaneously, manage activity logged by services, and learn how to better secure your Google Account.
Multi-account connection on Gmail, Google Plus, Calendar, etc.
Google allows you to be logged into several accounts at the same time, on many services. It is possible to use 10 different Google accounts simultaneously, on several tabs for example, without logging out! The functionality can be very practical, in particular to send emails from several addresses via Gmail. Now it only takes two clicks to switch between two separate Google accounts! Multi-account connection is available on the PC versions of many services: Google Calendar, Gmail, Google Plus, Google Maps, YouTube, etc. Tools that do not support multi-account management use the first account connected during the session by default.
Whatever service you use, you must first be connected to a “main” account. Then, just click on their name (or email address), located in the upper right corner of any Google tool, then on “Add an account”. Once logged in using two separate identifiers, all you have to do is click on your name again to change your account.
The Google Dashboard, to manage all the services
This is no more and no less than the dashboard of all the Google services associated with your account. And everything goes: Google Plus, Adsense, Android device, Gmail contacts, Feedburner, Gmail, Analytics, Google Books, Moderator, Google Calendar, synchronization of Google Chrome browser settings … If you want to check a setting, manage privacy settings associated services or your Google Alerts for example, you’ve come to the right place.
Control the activity of your Google account
On this page dedicated to the activity of your Google account, many statistics and other information about you are gathered. This lets you know where your account is logged in, the browsers and the operating systems used. The changes related to authentication are also listed (modification of a password, addition of a service using your account, etc.). The statistics of your Gmail, Google Calendar and YouTube accounts are also retrieved, and you have access to your personal history.
Google allows you to receive a monthly summary of your activity. To activate it, just click on the small cogwheel located in the upper right corner.
If you detect unusual activity on your activity report, or through active connections visible on Gmail , solutions exist. Google provides Internet users with a page devoted to suspicious activities which explains how to guard against possible foreign connections. You can also change your password and choose a more secure one.
Remove application access to your Google account
On social networks, it is common to allow an application to access its private data . Regular spring cleaning allows you to regain some serenity. On Google, the principle is the same, but the interface is less visible. You must go to this page to change these permissions . It is also possible to define a specific password for the applications.
Secure your Google account with two-step verification
Google nevertheless plans a number of solutions, in case your phone is not available: we think of a trip abroad for example, or a plane trip. You can generate one or more unique activation codes, to log in in these cases. And if you lose your phone, it will still be possible to connect to a previously authenticated terminal. For these user-defined devices, identification is only subject to entering the password; this makes it possible to speed up the process on these terminals and to retain recourse in the event of change, loss, theft or unavailability of the telephone. Finally, if you have an Android smartphone, iPhone or Blackberry, you can download a dedicated application to generate an authentication code. Once installed,
Recover a Google Account
To recover a lost account (forgotten password, hacked Google account …), the site offers many options, to configure before losing the account, of course! Once the functionality is configured, you can be identified by Google in different ways, in order to benefit from a new password: phone, recovery email address, secondary, and / or secret question.
Download your data with Google Takeout
By using Google tools, you upload a lot of data: your photos on Picasa, your contacts on Gmail and Google Plus… You can choose to retrieve this information by going to this page dedicated to downloading data . However, not all the services are available: you will generally have to go to the settings of each of the other tools to download the data related to these services.
Manage privacy settings
The confidentiality of your account data must be well understood. Google provides a dashboard that summarizes these settings. Do not hesitate to take a tour, to find out how you appear in the search results, to know the information related to your public profile, the visibility of your shares on Google Plus… You can also consult all the confidentiality rules applied to all services.
Delete a Google Account
If you no longer want to use your Google Account, you can close it. This de facto removes all your access to the various Google services… except Adsense (the tool has its own account deletion form, so it is possible to separate from a Google account while retaining access to Adsense). The tool will ask you to confirm that you want to close your entire account, as well as access to all associated services (Gmail, YouTube, etc.).
Delete a Google service associated with their account
The interaction between Google services is often beneficial, but also sometimes criticized: some do not like, for example, that a Google Plus profile is automatically generated when creating a Gmail account. But don’t panic: it is possible to delete each service linked to its account to keep only those that are really useful to us. Several solutions exist: in some cases, you can use the Dashboard ; if the functionality is not available here for the desired service, you can go directly to the settings of each service to close them one by one. Finally, Google allows everyone to deactivate Google Plus (you can permanently delete the content of your account or if you prefer, your entire public profile)
