Securing your Google Account
Your Google Account is home to all sorts of private data, from your browsing history and email, to groups of friends and even payment details.
Google tries to keep things in order with some decent security settings by default, but you need to know exactly how, and where, to make changes to your account to ensure you've got the levels of privacy and security you want.
If you've used any of Google's products before, you already have a Google Account. The same account is used across all Google products and services.
Your account username is the email address you entered when you created your Google Account. If you use Gmail, sign in with your Gmail username, it's likely that this is where you first obtained a Google Account.
In the following tutorial we'll show you exactly how to take control of your account down to the finest detail. You can access to your Google Account settings at any time directly by opening the Google Accounts website in a web browser.
If you have your browser's privacy settings set to 'High' you may be unable to access that page directly. To resolve this problem you might need to add www.google.com or www.google.co.uk to your browser's list of allowed sites.
We'll look at some service-specific account settings in the walkthrough.
If you're accessing Google Accounts from behind a firewall, proxy, or antivirus program, and you're still having trouble, temporarily disable the program and try signing in to your Google Account. If disabling the program resolves the issue you're experiencing, then most likely the software is causing the problem.
In case you ever get locked out of your Google Account for any reason, we'll show you how to go about adding a recovery email address and even a mobile phone notification for getting security alerts. A recovery email address provides a way back into your account, so that the email and other information that's accumulated doesn't become lost forever.
1. Basic privacy changes
At the Google Accounts webpage you can change a variety of settings from your main email address to your nickname and security settings.
Each bit is clickable, so for example to change your nickname you'd click on it.
7. Google+ Profile
If you click on Edit Your Google+ Profile you'll be taken to Google's social network. You can adjust its privacy settings from the drop-down menu in the top left corner of the screen.
8. Google+ Circles
Your circles - groups of people you share with - see everything you post by default. If you'd rather restrict which circles see what, you can change it in Settings > Your Circles > Customise.
