Earlier this year, Google axed the VPN service it included with Google One subscriptions. One of the related casualties was Google’s ‘Dark Web reports’ feature, but there’s a bit of good news now: Google is expanding it to all users.
As spotted by 9to5Google, a warning message in the Google One app says dark web reports “will no longer be available on Google One starting in late July.” At first, that sounds bad, but if you tap ‘Learn more’ to read Google’s help article, it says: “Dark web report will become available to all users with a consumer Google Account.”
That’s a change for the better since, right now, dark web reports are only available to Google One subscribers. The move makes the feature more widely available, which should also mean more people are protected by it. Canada is one of 46 countries where dark web reports are available.
“Dark web report is integrated with Results about you as a combined solution to help users protect their online presence,” reads the help document. “Results about you is a feature that helps you find out if your personal contact info, like your home address, phone number, or email address shows up in search results.”
Elsewhere, the help document notes that dark web reports will be available to all Google account users and won’t require a Google One membership “starting late July 2024,” though Google doesn’t provide an exact date.
Still, it’s only a matter of time before everyone with a Google account gets access to dark web reports. The feature can monitor the dark web and alert users if it detects their information in security breaches. While there are plenty of other tools out there that offer similar functionality, having it built into Google accounts should make it much more accessible.
Header image credit: Shutterstock
Source: Google Via: 9to5Google
MobileSyrup may earn a commission from purchases made via our links, which helps fund the journalism we provide free on our website. These links do not influence our editorial content. Support us here.
