Google Dashboard becomes mobile-friendly

Google Dashboard, a privacy tool through which users can see what Google has learned about them through their use of the company’s products, has been redesigned.

“Google Dashboard launched in 2009 to give you a snapshot of the Google products you use, all in one place. But as we built new tools like My Account and My Activity, it became clear that we needed to better integrate Dashboard into our other privacy controls,” Google product manager Greg Fair explained.

Google Dashboard changes

Google Dashboard was introduced in 2009, and continues to include data from Google services users access with their Google Account (Gmail, YouTube, Google Maps, etc.).

The re-designed Dashboard’s most important change improve usability on touchscreens, which is a predictable reaction to the general global shift from desktop computers to mobile devices. Many users, in fact, only use smartphones to access Google’s services.

This redesign also apparently makes it easier for users to download a copy of the data Google keeps on them – the option is now prominently located at the very top of the Dashboard, instead of being “buried” in My Account.

Google has taken advantage of this announcement to urge users to use other privacy options provided by them:

• Privacy Checkup, a tool for controlling your personal data across Google
• My Activity, which shows how you used Google’s services and offers the option to delete items in it
• Ads Settings, a dashboard for controlling how Google tailors ads to you.