10 Google URLs that Every User and Webmaster Should Know



The majority of us use Google to find the things we’re looking for online, but Google can do so much more than just search; here are 10 Google URLs every user should know.

google help

There are many questions Google users don’t ask themselves, you probably have never given them a single thought: which apps and websites are granted background access to information from your Google profile? How much information does Google store about you? Is it possible for you to follow all ads I’ve ever clicked from Google search?

How much does Google know about sites you have recently visited? Where should you go if you lose your administrator password to Google Apps? What are your interests according to Google’s determination? Where can you get a list of ads you have followed from Google search?

Below are a few of the most important links that users of Google should be aware of. They are located somewhere in the heart of your Google Account dashboard, and they may show you some very interesting details about yourself and your browsing as seen by Google. Read on to learn more.

  1. Your passwords – https://passwords.google.com

Google maintains a list of all usernames and passwords that you have entered in your Google Chrome or Android browsers to access various websites. They also have a website where you can see all this information.

  1. Your profiles – https://www.google.com/ads/preferences/

Google generates a profile of you according to sites you visit and information in your Google+ account among other signals. They use this information to estimate your gender, age and interests, and then leverage this information to display ads that are more germane for you. Follow this URL to see yourself through the eyes of Google.

  1. Exporting stuff – https://www.google.com/takeout

Google allows you to export all data pertaining to you from the Google ecosystem. You can download photos, Gmail messages, YouTube videos and contacts stored there. Simply follow that URL to find links to download whatever you need.

  1. Legal help – https://support.google.com/legal

If you ever run into content that belongs to you but is displayed in another website utilizing one or more of Google’s products – AdSense, Google+, Blogger, YouTube etc. – you can use this URL to lodge a DMCA complaint against the offending site, asking Google to remove that content. You can also use the same wizard to have websites that are stealing your content removed from Google search ranking pages.

  1. Location information – https://maps.google.com/locationhistory

If you have an Android device, it could be transmitting your latest location data and speed (whether or not you are moving, and how fast you are moving if so) to the Google servers. You can simply go to the Google Maps site to view your location history. If you want, you can also export that data, saved as a series of KML files, which can be viewed from Google Drive or Google earth

  1. New accounts – https://accounts.google.com/SignUpWithoutGmail

You can use your present Google email address to create another Google Account. Usually, the signup process uses your email address (@gmail.com) as the username for your account. Using this URL, however, you can sign up with any other email address to create an account username.

  1. Search history – https://history.google.com
    https://history.google.com/history/audio
    https://www.youtube.com/feed/history

Google and YouTube have a record of every search query that you have spoken or typed in the search omniboxes. They even have a record of all Google ads that you have clicked in from other websites, all YouTube videos you have watched and, if you use Google Now, you can get a list of all audio search queries you have made through OK Google. Everything.

  1. Account inactivation – https://www.google.com/settings/account/inactive

Google’s program policies demand that you sign in to your Gmail account within 9 months, otherwise the account may be terminated. This can be hard to keep track of if you have several Gmail accounts. To get around this, you can set your main Gmail account as trusted contact addressfor all other accounts you operate. Google will send reminders to this account so that you can sign in to the other accounts to avoid inactivation.

  1. Activity report – https://security.google.com/settings/security/activity

If you fear that another person has accessed your Google account, you can open your Google activity report which displays a record of all devices that have been recently used to sign in to your Google account. You will also see the IP address and the approximate geographical location of those devices. Unfortunately, Google has no provision for remote sign-out from other Google sessions, yet.

  1. Apps and permissions – https://security.google.com/settings/security/permissions

Provides a comprehensive list of browser extensions, web apps, mobile apps and Google Scripts which have access to read or write your Google data. If permission levels are set to “Access to basic account info”, it just means that your Google account was used to sign up/register for the app.

 

Conclusion: bonus tip for Google administrators

https://admin.google.com/domain.com/VerifyAdminAccountPasswordReset

This is an important yet undocumented URL useful for Google app users. If your Google account is hacked, you can use this link to reset your administrator password. Google will ask you to confirm your domain name by generating a CNAME record within your DNS.