How to check if someone else accessed your Google account

Go to https://myactivity.google.com/ to access your Google account history across all devices and Google services, such as YouTube, Google Maps, ... by AndyWolber in Security onJanuary15,2021,11:01AMPST ReviewyourrecentGmailaccess,browsersign-inhistory,andGoogleaccountactivitytomakesurenooneotherthanyouhasusedyouraccount. Illustration:AndyWolber/TechRepublic What'shotatTechRepublic Thebestprogramminglanguagestolearnin2022 Log4j:Howtoprotectyourselffromthissecurityvulnerability PagingZeframCochrane:Humanshavefiguredouthowtomakeawarpbubble Quickglossary:Metaverse(TechRepublicPremium) Wheneveracomputerisoutofyourdirectviewandcontrol,there'salwaysachancethatsomeoneotherthanyoucangainaccess.Apersonwhoreturnsfromatripmightwonderiftheircomputerandaccountshavebeenaccessedduringtheirabsence.ApersonmightnoticeoddactivityinGmail,notawarethattheirpasswordhasbeenmadepublic(or"pwned").Or,insomecases,apersonmightbesurveilledbyapartner,afamilymember,acolleague,orevenanunknownparty.Tosecureanaccount,youmightfirstchangeyourpassword,enabletwo-factorauthentication,orevenenrollinGoogle'sAdvancedProtectionProgram.Thosestepswillhelpyousecureyouraccount.However,incaseswherepeopleareunsafebecauseofdomesticabuse,thesestepswilllikelynotbeencouragedbyanabuser--helpisavailable.Thefollowingstepscanhelpyoufigureoutifsomeone,otherthanyou,isaccessingyourGmailorGoogleaccount.SEE: GoogleSheets:Tipsandtricks (TechRepublicdownload)  DidsomeoneaccessmyGmailaccount? Inadesktopwebbrowser,Gmailallowsyoutoreviewrecentemailaccessactivity.SelectDetailsinthelower-rightareabelowdisplayedemails,belowLastAccountActivity(FigureA). FigureAIfyourGmailaccounthasbeenaccessedinotherlocationsoronotherdevices,youmaydisplayrecentactivitywhilesignedintoGmailfromadesktop-classwebbrowser.Thesystemwillshowyouinformationaboutthemostrecent10timesyourGmailaccounthasbeenaccessed,alongwiththeaccesstype(browser,POP,mobile,etc.),location(IPaddress),andthedateandtimeofaccess.Thiscanhelpyouidentifyifanyofthisaccessisfromanunexpecteddevice,place,ortime. Note:Ifyouuseavirtualprivatenetworkorahosteddesktop,thelocationdatamayreflectinformationrelatedtoyourserviceprovider,insteadofyourphysicaladdress.Inafewcases,I'vehadclientsconcernedaboutaccessinanexpectedlocation,butatanunexpectedtime.Sometimes,thiswassimplybecausethey'dleftacomputeron,withtheirbrowserormailclientopen:Thesystemcouldbeconfiguredtoauto-checkmailperiodically.Inonecase,accessoccurredafterapoweroutage.They'dconfigurethesystemtoautomaticallypoweronafteranoutage,soitsignedinanddownloadednewmailshortlyafterpowerwasrestored. Didsomeoneaccessmybrowser?IntheChromebrowser--andonanyChromebookorChromeOSdevice--pressCtrl+Htodisplaybrowserhistory.Alternatively,typechrome://historyintheomnibox,orselectthethree-verticaldotmenuintheupper-right,thenchooseHistory | History.OnmacOS,pressCommand+Y.Youmayscrollthroughallavailablesitesvisited.Reviewthesetoseeifanysitesdisplayedareunexpected.Additionally,youmayentersearchtermsintheboxdisplayedabovethehistoricalURLslisted.Forexample,searchfor"signin,"orcopyandpastethislinkintoyourbrowseromnibox:chrome://history/?q=sign%20in todisplaymostsiteloginpages(FigureB).Again,reviewtheresultsforanysitesyoudon'texpect.Youmightsearchfor"gmail.com"aswell.FigureBUseCtrl+H(oronmacOS,Command+Y)todisplayyourbrowserhistory.Youalsomaysearchhistoryforterms,suchas"login"or"signin,"asshown. DidsomeoneaccessmyGoogleaccount?Gotohttps://myactivity.google.com/toaccessyourGoogleaccounthistoryacrossalldevicesandGoogleservices,suchasYouTube,GoogleMaps,GooglePlay,andmore(FigureC).Dependingonyoursecuritysettings,youmayneedtore-authenticatewhenyouattempttoaccessthisinformation.Again,reviewanyrecordeddatatomakesureitcorrespondswithyourusage.FigureCTheMyGoogleActivitypagedisplaysanyrecordedaccessofwebsites,apps,location,andYouTube.Similarly,gotohttps://myaccount.google.com/device-activitytoreviewalistofdevicestowhichyou'vesignedinwithyourGoogleaccount(FigureD).Youmayselectthethree-verticaldotsintheupper-rightofanydisplayeddevices,thenchooseSignOuttopreventanyfutureaccesswithoutre-authenticationonadevice. FigureDYoualsomayreviewthedevicesWhereYou'reSignedIntoyourGoogleaccount.Selectthethree-dotmenuintheupper-rightcorneroftheboxforeachdevicetoSignOutofanydevice.GothroughGoogle'sSecurityCheckup(https://myaccount.google.com/security-checkup)forastep-by-stepreviewofeveryitemGoogle'ssystemidentifiesasapotentialsecurityissue(FigureE).FigureEGoogle'sSecurityCheckuphelpsyoureviewthesecurityofyouraccount,step-by-step. UseGoogleWorkspace(formerlyGSuite)?Askanadministratorforhelp.IfyouuseGmailandGoogleWorkspaceaspartofanorganization(e.g.,workorschool),anadministratormaybeabletodoadditionalreviewofyouraccountaccessdata.Todothis,theadministratorwillneedtosignintotheadminconsoleathttps://admin.google.com.FromtheAdminconsole,theymightgotohttps://admin.google.com/ac/,selectyouraccount,thenreviewsecuritysettingsaswellasconnectedappsanddevices.Next,theymightreviewalllogininformationbygoingtotheloginreportathttps://admin.google.com/ac/reporting/audit/login,thenfilteringforyouraccount(FigureF).Sincethisinformationiscentrallyloggedbythesystem,accessrecordswillremain,evenifthepersonaccessingyouraccountattemptstocovertheirtracks(e.g.,bylocallydeletingbrowserhistory).FigureFFororganizationalaccounts,aGoogleWorkspaceadministratormayreviewaccountsettings(e.g.,security,apps,anddevices)andauditlogs(e.g.,accountsignins),asdisplayedinthesetwoalternatingscreenshots. What'syourexperience?Ifyou'vewonderedwhethersomeoneelsehasaccessedyourGoogleaccount,whatstepshaveyoutaken?WhatdidyoulearnwhenyoucompletedtheaboveaccessreviewofyourGoogleaccount?Letmeknowanyadditionalstepsyousuggest,eitherinthecommentsbeloworonTwitter(@awolber).   GoogleWeeklyNewsletter LearnhowtogetthemostoutofGoogleDocs,GoogleCloudPlatform,GoogleApps,ChromeOS,andalltheotherGoogleproductsusedinbusinessenvironments. DeliveredFridays Signuptoday AlsoseeTopcloudprovidersin2020:AWS,MicrosoftAzure,andGoogleCloud,hybrid,SaaSplayers (TechRepublicPremium)HowtomanagesecurityandprivacyinthenewMicrosoftEdgebrowser(TechRepublic)Howtoreviewyourcomputer'sreliabilityandproblemhistoryinWindows10(TechRepublic)5importanttasksforGSuiteadministrators(TechRepublic)9awesomeGSuitefeaturesthatitsdesignerswishmorepeopleknewabout(ZDNet)How-ToTips:Moreeasy-to-followtutorials(TechRepubliconFlipboard) Editor'sPicks TechRepublicPremium:ThebestITpolicies,templates,andtools,fortodayandtomorrow. Thebestprogramminglanguagestolearnin2022 CheckforLog4jvulnerabilitieswiththissimple-to-usescript TasksBoardisthekanbaninterfaceforGoogleTasksyou'vebeenwaitingfor PagingZeframCochrane:Humanshavefiguredouthowtomakeawarpbubble 2022techconferencesandeventstoaddtoyourcalendar Commentandshare:HowtocheckifsomeoneelseaccessedyourGoogleaccount ByAndyWolber AndyWolberhelpspeopleunderstandandleveragetechnologyforsocialimpact.HeresidesinAlbuquerque,NMwithhiswife,Liz,anddaughter,Katie. | FullBio | SeeallofAndy'scontent RelatedTopics: Security Cloud Software CXO Hardware Mobility DataCenters SecurityonZDNet ShowComments HideComments LOGINTOCOMMENT MyProfile Logout |CommentingFAQs|CommunityGuidelines JoinDiscussion LOGINTOCOMMENT AddyourComment