Google is making its dark web monitoring service free for anyone with a Google account, giving users an easy way to learn if their personal info has been found in data breaches, the company recently announced.
The dark web report feature was previously only available to users who paid for a Google One membership.
The free service will start rolling out to users later this month, the company said.
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To utilize it once it goes live, all you have to do is make sure you are signed in to your Google account then click on the “Results about you” page to set up dark web report alerts. The search results will let you know if your personal information, such as your phone number, Social Security number and email, has been found on the dark web.
You can then set it up to monitor the dark web on a regular basis and send you alerts whenever something new is found.
In some cases, it will give you an option to remove your personal information from the sketchy places where it was found, but Google can’t remove anything from a third-party site. For those instances, Google will provide you with tips on how to remove it yourself and how to better protect your information.
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Users who currently have a Google One account can find the dark web report monitoring under the “Security” tab on their account’s homepage, which can be accessed by clicking on their photo icon. A notification banner on the page explains how the dark web report will change once it is rolled out to all Google users.
The dark web is a hidden part of the internet that allows people to conceal their identity and location from other users and law enforcement, which makes it a popular platform to sell people’s personal information stolen through malware, phishing scams, data breaches and more.
