Google Trends shows Indians becoming more conscious of online safety

Google Trends show that people in India have become increasingly conscious about their online safety, especially in relation to the security of their online accounts. According to Google, there have been a 20% increase in searches for ‘CHANGE PASSWORD’ and a 97% increase in searches for ‘TWO STEP VERIFICATION’ over the past year. It also says that there has been 591% more searches for ‘HOW TO TRACK A LOST PHONE’. In addition, the company has also announced a number of initiatives to improve online safety. This includes Google’s Web Rangers program which targets schools, as well as partnerships with Consumer Voice and the Data Security Council of India.   

Read the complete press release below

With a rapid surge in the number of Indian users coming online, Google India today announced its support towards Safer Internet Day. In its commitment towards providing its consumers a safer Internet experience Google rolled out some new features and resources designed to protect users online.
 
From simple initiatives like simplifying security settings to making trustworthy messages easier to spot in Gmail, Google will be driving multiple initiatives to drive awareness about online safety among Indian Internet users. Users can take a quick Security Check-up, to review and manage your Google Account’s security settings and initiate a step towards safe Internet experience.
 
“With an increase in the number of users coming online and the rise in the penetration of smartphone users in India, we at Google are committed to offering users a safe Internet experience. We are adding five million new users a month taking  the user base of ‘connected’ Indians to 500 millions online by 2018-2019. It’s more important now than ever before to ensure the data and profiles of these users is safe online. Thus Safer Internet Day is a great opportunity to focus on online safety and drive awareness for a better Internet. said Sunita Mohanty Director, Trust and Safety, Google India.
 
Some interesting Search Trends:
 

• Google Trends show that people in India have become increasingly conscious about their online safety, especially around the security of their online accounts. In the past year, there have been 20% more searches for“CHANGE PASSWORD” and 97% more searches for “TWO STEP VERIFICATION”.
• Two-step verification requires more than just a password to sign into your Google account, such as a 6-digit code that is sent to your phone for more protection. This added layer of security can prevent phishing because even if someone steals your password it is still not enough to get into your account.
• Mobile phones have also become nearly indispensable in daily life and thus brings to foray issues and challenges around safety and security of not just these devices but also the content stored on the device. In the past year itself, there have been 591% more searches for “HOW TO TRACK A LOST PHONE”

 
In its initiative to spread awareness and encourage the users to utilise the existing tools to ensure a safer Internet experience, Google is offering its users 2GB of extra Google Drive storage on completion of the security check-up by February 11th. This storage can be used across Google Drive, Gmail, and Photos.

Some of Google’s Initiatives :
·         Last year, through the Web Rangers program, Google targeted 5,000 schools around India to train school kids to help spread awareness about safe surfing practices among their peers. This year, Google is expanding the reach of the program to 10,000 schools and 1,000 universities all around India.
 
·         In to prevent and counter any cyber threats Google announced its partnership with Consumer Voice in order to conduct online safety trainings for community organizations across 27 states helping to create a better and safer online community.  
·         Google in collaboration with the Data Security Council of India will run a special information security awareness program, safeguarding the interest of small and medium sized enterprises