<s>
A	O
Google	B-Application
Account	I-Application
is	O
a	O
user	O
account	O
that	O
is	O
required	O
for	O
access	O
,	O
authentication	O
and	O
authorization	O
to	O
certain	O
online	O
Google	B-Application
services	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
Google	B-Application
Account	I-Application
is	O
required	O
for	O
Gmail	B-Application
,	O
Google	B-Protocol
Hangouts	I-Protocol
,	O
Google	B-Protocol
Meet	I-Protocol
and	O
Blogger	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Some	O
Google	B-Application
products	I-Application
do	O
not	O
require	O
an	O
account	O
,	O
including	O
Google	B-Application
Search	I-Application
,	O
YouTube	B-General_Concept
,	O
Google	B-Application
Books	I-Application
,	O
Google	B-Application
Finance	I-Application
and	O
Google	B-Application
Maps	I-Application
.	I-Application
</s>
<s>
However	O
,	O
an	O
account	O
is	O
needed	O
for	O
uploading	O
videos	O
to	O
YouTube	B-General_Concept
and	O
for	O
making	O
edits	O
in	O
Google	B-Application
Maps	I-Application
.	I-Application
</s>
<s>
YouTube	B-General_Concept
and	O
Blogger	B-Application
maintain	O
separate	O
accounts	O
for	O
users	O
who	O
registered	O
with	O
the	O
services	O
before	O
the	B-Application
Google	I-Application
acquisition	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
However	O
,	O
effective	O
April	O
2011	O
YouTube	B-General_Concept
users	O
are	O
required	O
to	O
link	O
to	O
a	O
separate	O
Google	B-Application
Account	I-Application
if	O
they	O
wish	O
to	O
continue	O
to	O
log	O
into	O
that	O
service	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Google	B-Application
Account	I-Application
users	O
may	O
create	O
a	O
publicly	O
accessible	O
Google	B-Application
profile	I-Application
,	O
to	O
configure	O
their	O
presentation	O
on	O
Google	B-Application
products	I-Application
to	O
other	O
Google	B-Application
users	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
Google	B-Application
profile	I-Application
can	O
be	O
linked	O
to	O
a	O
user	O
's	O
profiles	O
on	O
various	O
social-networking	O
and	O
image-hosting	B-Algorithm
sites	O
,	O
as	O
well	O
as	O
user	O
blogs	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Third-party	O
service	O
providers	O
may	O
implement	O
service	O
authentication	O
for	O
Google	B-Application
Account	I-Application
holders	O
via	O
the	B-Application
Google	B-Application
Account	I-Application
mechanism	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
While	O
creating	O
a	O
Google	B-Application
account	I-Application
,	O
users	O
are	O
asked	O
to	O
provide	O
a	O
recovery	O
email	O
address	O
to	O
allow	O
them	O
to	O
reset	O
their	O
password	O
if	O
they	O
have	O
forgotten	O
it	O
,	O
or	O
if	O
their	O
account	O
is	O
hacked	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
some	O
countries	O
,	O
such	O
as	O
the	O
United	O
States	O
,	O
the	O
United	O
Kingdom	O
and	O
India	O
,	O
Google	B-Application
may	O
also	O
require	O
one-time	O
use	O
of	O
a	O
mobile	O
phone	O
number	O
to	O
send	O
an	O
account	O
validation	O
code	O
by	O
SMS	O
text	O
messaging	O
or	O
voice	O
message	O
when	O
creating	O
a	O
new	O
account	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Google	B-Application
also	O
offers	O
a	O
two-step	O
verification	O
option	O
—	O
for	O
additional	O
security	O
against	O
hacking	O
—	O
that	O
requests	O
a	O
validation	O
code	O
each	O
time	O
the	O
user	O
logs	O
into	O
their	O
Google	B-Application
account	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
code	O
is	O
either	O
generated	O
by	O
an	O
application	O
(	O
"	O
Google	B-Application
Authenticator	O
"	O
or	O
other	O
similar	O
apps	O
)	O
or	O
received	O
from	O
Google	B-Application
as	O
an	O
SMS	O
text	O
message	O
,	O
a	O
voice	O
message	O
,	O
or	O
an	O
email	O
to	O
another	O
account	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
IMAP	O
and	O
POP3	O
clients	O
)	O
must	O
use	O
a	O
unique	O
16-character	O
alphanumeric	O
password	O
generated	O
by	O
Google	B-Application
instead	O
of	O
the	O
user	O
's	O
normal	O
password	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Users	O
who	O
seek	O
an	O
even	O
higher	O
level	O
of	O
security	O
protection	O
,	O
including	O
users	O
whose	O
accounts	O
could	O
be	O
attractive	O
targets	O
for	O
hackers	O
,	O
such	O
as	O
celebrities	O
,	O
politicians	O
,	O
journalists	O
,	O
political	O
activists	O
and	O
wealthy	O
individuals	O
,	O
can	O
opt-in	O
to	O
Google	B-Application
's	I-Application
Advanced	O
Protection	O
Program	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
program	O
requires	O
the	O
user	O
to	O
purchase	O
two	O
U2F	B-Protocol
USB	O
keys	O
—	O
not	O
for	O
data	O
storage	O
,	O
but	O
for	O
identity	O
verification	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
U2F	B-Protocol
keys	O
are	O
used	O
to	O
provide	O
two-step	O
verification	O
during	O
login	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Whenever	O
Google	B-Application
analysis	O
indicate	O
that	O
a	O
government	O
has	O
attempted	O
to	O
compromise	O
an	O
account	O
,	O
a	O
notice	O
will	O
be	O
displayed	O
that	O
reads	O
"	O
Warning	O
:	O
We	O
believe	O
state-sponsored	O
attackers	O
may	O
be	O
trying	O
to	O
compromise	O
your	O
account	O
or	O
computer.	O
"	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
tool	O
called	O
'	O
My	O
Activity	O
 '	O
launched	O
in	O
2016	O
-	O
which	O
supersedes	O
Google	B-Application
Search	I-Application
history	O
and	O
Google	B-Application
Web	I-Application
History	O
—	O
enables	O
users	O
to	O
see	O
and	O
delete	O
data	O
tracked	O
by	O
Google	B-Application
through	O
the	B-Application
Google	I-Application
account	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
tool	O
shows	O
which	O
websites	O
were	O
visited	O
using	O
Chrome	O
while	O
logged	O
in	O
,	O
devices	O
used	O
,	O
apps	O
used	O
,	O
Google	B-Application
products	I-Application
interacted	O
with	O
,	O
etc	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Google	B-Application
may	O
block	O
an	O
account	O
for	O
various	O
reasons	O
,	O
such	O
as	O
"	O
unusual	O
activity	O
"	O
or	O
entering	O
an	O
age	O
"	O
not	O
old	O
enough	O
"	O
to	O
own	O
a	O
Google	B-Application
account	I-Application
.	O
</s>
