Is your Gmail account safe?
Google has responded to a troubling investigation by the Wall Street Journal, which revealed people’s private emails could be read by third-party app developers.
Google Cloud’s Director of Security, Trust and Privacy, Suzanne Frey, admitted that it was common for third-party developers to read the contents of users’ Gmail messages if they had been giving the permissions to do so.
Frey has shared a blog post, explaining how users can make sure their accounts are secure.
The three simple steps teach users how to restrict the access third-party developers had in their private inbox.
Here is how you can control how much third-party developers can see.
1. Use the Security Checkup Tool
Sign into your Gmail account and then click on the squares in the top right-hand corner. Then click on ‘Account’ in the dropdown menu. Click on ‘Security Checkup’ – this will allow you to see how many devices are signed into the account and if there have been any security issues detected in the past 28 days.
It also shows the sign-in and recovery method as well as how many third-party apps have access to data. If there are apps that are no longer being used, Google recommends for them to be removed to avoid privacy concerns.
2. Review permissions
Before granting access to non-Google applications, users are advised to review their permissions. If an app wants to access a user’s Google account, it will list what aspects it wants to access (E.g. read, send, delete and manage emails). Users then decide whether they want to allow the application to access their Gmail account.
3. View and control permissions
To access this option, sign into your Gmail account and click on the squares in the top right-hand corner. Click ‘Account’ in the dropdown menu, then ‘Apps with account access’. This allows users to see all the apps or services that are able to access their account. Users can remove the permissions for any they no longer trust.
It also lets users look at saved passwords and which ones Google Smart Lock has permission to remember.
You can also remove any passwords that are outdated.