Use Gmail? Google changing way you log in – not everyone will like it

Google has announced a huge shake-up for Gmail users – and it will change how you login to your inbox. Yes, the Californian company has confirmed plans to roll-out two-step verification (2SV) to all 150 million Google accounts. But not everyone will be thrilled with the change.

With two-step verification, a password alone is not enough to login. That makes your account a lot more secure – it protects users from a number of cyber attacks – it does add an extra step when you’re logging in. It also means you’ll need to have your smartphone by your side in order to login.

That’s going to cause a headache for a number of Google fans.

Nevertheless, by the end of this year, some 150 million Google accounts will be auto-enrolled into 2SV with the feature also set to be activated for two million YouTube creators. Google accounts are used to log in to a wide range of services such as Gmail, YouTube and Google Drive.

Announcing the news in a blog post online, Google said: “2SV has been core to Google’s own security practices and today we make it seamless for our users with a Google prompt, which requires a simple tap on your mobile device to prove it’s really you trying to sign in. And because we know the best way to keep our users safe is to turn on our security protections by default, we have started to automatically configure our users’ accounts into a more secure state.

“By the end of 2021, we plan to auto-enroll an additional 150 million Google users in 2SV and require 2 million YouTube creators to turn it on.”

Once 2SV is enabled on an account it adds an extra layer of security which makes it harder for hackers to break in. Besides your typical password, when 2SV is enabled an additional unique code will be sent to your device which is need to log in.

This means even if a bad actor somehow steals your Google username and password they won’t be able to login and access your accounts with the critical 2SV code.

Google describes 2SV as one of the “most reliable ways” to stop unauthorised access to accounts and networks in its tracks. However, it has acknowledged that its one-size-fits-all approach to the roll-out might ruffle some feathers.

It admits, “We also recognise that today’s 2SV options aren’t suitable for everyone, so we are working on technologies that provide a convenient, secure authentication experience and reduce the reliance on passwords in the long-term.

“Right now we are auto-enrolling Google accounts that have the proper backup mechanisms in place to make a seamless transition to 2SV.”

If you want to double check how secure your Google account is then you can head to the Google Security Checkup website.

This shows what security measures are already enabled on your Google account, such as 2SV, whether you have a recovery email and if any saved passwords are linked to your Google account.