In May, Google announced that it plans to enable 2FA (two-factor authentication/two-step verification) by default to enhance security for accounts. As it celebrates Cybersecurity Awareness Month, Google is once again reminding us that it will enable two-factor for 150 million more accounts by the end of this year.
In 2018, Google said that only 10% of its active accounts were using 2FA.
Since then, the company has been making efforts to encourage people to enable the setting. Another part of the effort will need more than 2 million YouTubers to turn on 2FA to protect their channels from hackers.
Security keys and more
Google says that it partnered with organizations to give away more than 10,000 hardware security keys each year. The push for 2FA has made the technology readily available on phones, whether iOS- or Android-powered.
Password managers also help users keep their accounts secure, with Google saying that it now checks over a billion passwords a day via its built-in manager in Chrome, Android, and various apps.
Google says that it will soon generate passwords for other apps, making things simpler. There is also an expected ability to see all your saved passwords directly from the Google app menu.
Additional plans
To add to the already existing provisions, Google is pointing the spotlight at its Inactive Account Manager. The capability is a set of decisions to make about your account if you decide to stop using it or are no longer around to make those decisions.
In 2013, the company added a feature setting a timeout period for your account (between 3 and 18 months of disuse) before the Inactive Account Manager protocols kick in.
Google will send an email a month before the limit is reached at which point it will delete things (if that is what you wanted) or forward the decision to trusted contacts you would like to handle things for you.
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