Google has added a new section in the Google Account settings page called Recent Activity. The page shows a list of recent sign-ins to your Google account accompanied by related information such as browser used, device, IP address and approximate location. Unlike the Last Activity information in your Gmail inbox, the information on the Recent Activity page is for your entire Google Account, so sign-ins from any Google product such as Blogger, Gmail, or YouTube will be listed in this section. In comparison, the Last Activity is only limited to sign-ins to your Gmail account.
However, the Recent Activity page is not an exhaustive list of every sign-ins. Google explains:
“A sign-in is only listed when you’ve actually typed your username and password to sign in. For example, if you’ve been signed in to your account for several weeks on your phone, checking your email from time to time, we’ll only list the time and location of your initial sign-in.”
The company advises its users to periodically review these actions and take note of the time and location where they took place. Anything suspicious — for example, a sign-in from a browser you’ve never used, or a location you’ve never been to, indicates a potentially unauthorized break-in. In that case, you should change the password immediately. A “Change password” button right next to this list takes you straight to the password changing place.
“If you notice a recovery option change you did not make, be sure to update the recovery option in addition to changing your password”, Google adds.
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