Privacy Control Overhaul Takes Center Stage in Google Accounts Update

Google released its shiny new accounts page update today, featuring a sleek redesign with emphasis on transparency, as well as upgraded privacy and security settings.

The new update retools the account hub giving users an easier way to navigate and control their privacy options, allowing for in-depth access to prominent security and privacy settings. Users can now review detailed summaries of relevant personal information such as payment methods, purchases, contacts and subscriptions.

“We are committed to providing you with the controls you need to choose what’s right for you. For years, we’ve built and refined tools to help you easily understand, protect, and control your information. As needs around security and privacy evolve, we will continue to improve these important tools to help you control how Google works for you” said Google Account Product Manager Jan Hannemann in a press release.

With privacy and security at the forefront of the update, the new Data & Personalization tab takes center stage. This feature is tailor-made for users to learn and better understand their Google Account.

Users can navigate Activity Controls to choose what types of activity data will be saved in their account to maximize their Google experience but more importantly, users can now review how Google is using their information with the newly updated Privacy Check Up.

The latter is a step in the right direction for data usage transparency, especially after Facebook’s recent Cambridge Analytica debacle. The data mining scandal involved information from 87 million Facebook users being wrongfully utilized without their consent for the development of political ads intended to influence would-be voters to favor a particular candidate during the 2016 US Presidential elections.

The new update also provides users larger control over their Google Ads experience. With the new Ad Settings, users can now understand why they are seeing certain ads and control what will pop up in the future. This feature affects all websites and apps that partner with Google show ads including YouTube and Blogger.

In addition, Google also added a search tab to streamline the navigation of the account hub. A quick one-word search will promptly feature all available options, making access to all information a lot simpler.

Currently, the accounts page update is only available for Android users with plans to roll out the upgrade to iPhone users later this year.