Google users can now password-protect page that shows search activity

Now, "if you turn on extra verification, Google will make sure it's really you before you can see or delete your full history on My Activity," the company said in an update.
Google search on tablet
Google search on tablet
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In a bid to help protect browsing history and search activities of its users, Google will now let them password-protect the page that shows their searches. Whenever people use a Google device or product (Android smartphone or Chrome browser), their activity history is stored and is available for them to review via ‘My Activity; feature. Now, "if you turn on extra verification, Google will make sure it's really you before you can see or delete your full history on My Activity," the company said in an update. 

"This can help keep your history safer on shared devices. This setting only applies to My Activity. Your history may still appear in other Google products," the company added.

To strengthen your privacy on shared devices, you can choose to require an extra verification step to view your full history on My Activity. To activate the verification, go to activity.google.com and click the Manage My Activity verification link. 

According to Android Police, once turned on, "the feature will ask you to verify your identity before showing your history". "What this actually does is simply take you to the regular Google sign-in page, allowing you to either enter your password or connect using your Android device if you've set that up," the report mentioned.

Google is also testing a new feature for its Chrome browser on Android that lets users "follow" sites to create an updating list of new content they publish. The feature is based on RSS (a web feed) and it is an open web standard that's been the backbone of many popular web aggregation tools in the past, The Verge recently reported. 

The test is small-scale -- the following sites will only be an option for some US users of Chrome Canary (the bleeding-edge version of Chrome that lets enthusiasts access beta features). Users will be able to follow sites from the browser menu and updates will be aggregated in a card-based feed that's shown when users open a new tab. It's not clear whether this feed is wholly dependent on sites providing RSS support or if Google will fill in the gaps itself, the report said.

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