Most people think Google is just a search engine. However, Google is much more than that. Google offers various services like Gmail, Analytics, Google Play, Google Drive and much more. Here are 10 lesser-known features or URLs that every Google user should know.
Contents
Google Device Manager
Most people might not know this, but Android devices have a feature using which you can track your smartphone. All you have to do is enable the device manager option by going to Settings > Security > Device administrators and enable Android Device Manager.
Now go to the below link, and you can track your phone’s location, Ring the phone and Lock or Erase your phone’s data remotely. You can also find the IMEI number of your lost phone.
Sign Up Without Gmail
So while creating a new Google account, we need to choose a new @gmail.com username. However, by using the below link, you can create a new email account without “@gmail.com”. Here you can use your existing email account like [email protected] or a professional email like [email protected] to create a new Google account.
Note – You need to confirm that the existing email ID you have used is yours.
Google Shopping
I bet most of you guys did not know about Google shopping. Google Shopping is a price comparison search engine that lets us compare prices of products on different shopping portals. Suppose you want to buy a PS4, so go to the below link and search for PS4.
Now you can compare prices from different vendors and get the best deal.
Unfortunately, this service is only available in the US, UK, Japan, Italy, Netherlands, Brazil, Australia, Germany, France, Spain, and Switzerland.
Location History
The Google map app on your phone is reporting your location to Google servers. Google allows us to view our entire location history. You can also download this information from Google Maps in KML format which can be later viewed in Google Maps.
This can be useful if you want to spy your girlfriend/boyfriend.
Backup Your Data
Google allows us to download all the data related to your account. You can download Gmail messages, Google Photos, Contacts, Blogger blogs, YouTube videos and a ton of other stuff.
Just head over to the below link, and you will get a list of Google products you can export in an archive format.
Google Passwords
Do you remember while logging in to a website Google Chrome always gives the option to save the username and password so that you could quickly login next time. Well, a list of all these usernames and passwords is stored on Google servers. Just visit the below link, and you can find all your usernames and passwords in plain text.
This might be helpful if you forget your password usually.
Login Activity Report
If you think someone might be using your Google account, then you can check your login activity report where you can find a list of devices that have been active on your account for the last 28 days. You can also view the location of the device, and if you find something suspicious, then you can disable access to that particular device.
Google URL Shortener
Tired of sharing lengthy links? Now you can use Google URL shorter to shorten lengthy links. The best part is Google URL shortener also allows us to track clicks on the link. All you need to do is sign in to your Google account and start using goo.gl.
Google URL Shortener has been discontinued.
Learn to use Google Apps
If you are not familiar with Google products like Gmail or Google Plus, then you can check the G-suit learning center where you can learn to use these services. Here you can find tutorials from scratch and some tips & tricks to use these services effectively.
Google Developers
If you are a developer, then you might find this very useful. In this site, you can find software development tools, APIs, technical resources and documentation on how to use them. You can find APIs for almost all Google products such as YouTube, Maps, Gmail and much more.
