Reasons why your Google account is doorway to your innermost secrets

Let's get one thing straight: Your Google Account is the digital replica of who you are, what you do, what places you visit, what videos you watch, what you search for on YouTube, so on and so forth. And if your privacy is not a good enough reason to safeguard your Google account, we don't know what is! If you often fail to ensure the safety and privacy of your Google account, that's probably because you don't realise what's at stake here, do you? Well, you may not be aware but many a times your offline activities too leave a trace inside your Google Account dashboard almost instantly. For example, the always-on mic on your smartphone listens to your offline conversations and serve you relevant ads, outside of Google (mostly, Facebook). If you have watched the Netflix Original documentary -- The Great Hack, you might recall the scene where professor David Carroll asks his students: "Who has seen an advertisement that has convinced you that your microphone is listening to your conversations?" It rings the bell, doesn't it?

Your search, voice activity

Your offline conversations are one thing where your phone is listening to some of the catchphrases (to serve you with targetted ads) without your knowledge. But there are also instances when you explicitly allow your phone's microphone to listen to what you have to say. For example, Google allows you to ask questions and give commands to its Assistant, which is basically anything and everything you say after uttering those two words -- "Hey Google" or "Ok Google." Basically, all you need to do is trigger the Assistant, either manually by long-pressing the home button or saying "Hey Google" or "Ok Google" into your microphone. Your Google Account dashboard keeps a tab on all your voice commands and searches inside your Google Activity dashboard. Google Activity Dashboard is where all your Google services related data is stored. Your Activity Dashboard will not miss onto any of your activity as long as you are signed in to your Google Account.

READ | Google touts privacy options, but still depends on your data

Your location history

Google Activity Dashboard remembers your entire location history, all of your search queries and everything else you might have done using a Google service. It also keeps a track of when was the last time you opened WhatsApp, Tinder or any app on your smartphone. Your YouTube search and watch history is logged too. It shows what videos you watched on YouTube and at what time. Now imagine the kind of damage it can cause in case your credit/debit card details added or stored into your Google account or online payment services associated with your Google account. In that case, you must ensure the safety of your Google account so that you can save yourself from exposing to fraudulent transactions. In what could be the scariest and creepiest aspects of Google Dashboard, it stores Google Maps data, including all turn-by-turn movements and navigation, even when you did not use Google Maps. Google's 'Find My Device' tool is a stalker’s Candyland if you lose access to your Google account. Find My Device (previously Android Device Manager) is a service run by Google, which helps users locate their smartphone associated with the same Google Account, on other devices. But if it ends up in wrong hands, Find My Device is the world's best detective ever.

In the next article, we will cover some of the best and essential tips to help you safeguard your Google Account. So stay tuned!