Analysis by Rob Pegoraro:
Wednesday morning, Google announced that users with a Google Account could sign up to get a monthly Activity Report itemizing their use of some of the Web giant's services. Opting into this takes all of one click after you sign into your account; an email inviting me to check out my first report, covering from Feb. 27 through March 25, arrived maybe half an hour later.
Google's record of the locations, Internet providers, operating systems and browsers from which I'd logged into my account could have been a breadcrumb trail across the United States -- except for the lack of a corresponding map. But because I use my primary Gmail account mainly for online shopping, these stats offered minimal insight about my overall email habits.
could see that my long-dormant YouTube account had netted a few dozen views. But the nondormant Picasa photo-sharing account that's been steadily collecting pictures via Google+ automatic photo uploading didn't even earn a listing.
At a Google Apps account I use for my work email, my Activity Report testified that I had sent 300 emails that month (unsurprisingly, the top two recipients edit my articles) and received 1,773. The busiest day was Thursday, March 15, when 166 messages landed in my inbox. But no other useful or merely salacious details surfaced on that page; it seems I had avoided doing any Web searches while signed into that account.
It was reassuring to see so many blank spots in Google's view of me, especially after the controversy over its recent consolidation of privacy policies.
But this monthly statement isn't a complete accounting. Beyond sign-in details, Gmail, Web history, YouTube, Picasa and Latitude, a Google representative said the report only factors in security-settings changes. (If you see any you didn't make yourself, change your password immediately). The company plans to add unspecified services in the coming months.
Source with picture of the activity report: http://news.discovery.com/tech/google-account-activity-reports-120329.html
Question: Will you be signing up to get a monthly Activity Report? Why or why not.
Wednesday morning, Google announced that users with a Google Account could sign up to get a monthly Activity Report itemizing their use of some of the Web giant's services. Opting into this takes all of one click after you sign into your account; an email inviting me to check out my first report, covering from Feb. 27 through March 25, arrived maybe half an hour later.
Google's record of the locations, Internet providers, operating systems and browsers from which I'd logged into my account could have been a breadcrumb trail across the United States -- except for the lack of a corresponding map. But because I use my primary Gmail account mainly for online shopping, these stats offered minimal insight about my overall email habits.
could see that my long-dormant YouTube account had netted a few dozen views. But the nondormant Picasa photo-sharing account that's been steadily collecting pictures via Google+ automatic photo uploading didn't even earn a listing.
At a Google Apps account I use for my work email, my Activity Report testified that I had sent 300 emails that month (unsurprisingly, the top two recipients edit my articles) and received 1,773. The busiest day was Thursday, March 15, when 166 messages landed in my inbox. But no other useful or merely salacious details surfaced on that page; it seems I had avoided doing any Web searches while signed into that account.
It was reassuring to see so many blank spots in Google's view of me, especially after the controversy over its recent consolidation of privacy policies.
But this monthly statement isn't a complete accounting. Beyond sign-in details, Gmail, Web history, YouTube, Picasa and Latitude, a Google representative said the report only factors in security-settings changes. (If you see any you didn't make yourself, change your password immediately). The company plans to add unspecified services in the coming months.
Source with picture of the activity report: http://news.discovery.com/tech/google-account-activity-reports-120329.html
Question: Will you be signing up to get a monthly Activity Report? Why or why not.
