Google to expand its Dark Web monitoring tool to all Gmail users

New Delhi, May 14

Google has announced that it will expand its Dark Web monitoring to all Gmail users in the US and later to international markets.

The Gmail users will now be able to run scans to see if their Gmail address appears on the Dark Web and receive guidance on what actions to take to protect themselves.

Previously only available to Google One subscribers in the US, the Dark Web scan feature will be available to all Gmail users in the next few weeks.

"We'll soon be expanding access to our Dark Web report to select international markets," the company informed.

Google Core services SVP, Jen Fitzpatrick, said that the company protects Gmail users from nearly 15 billion unwanted messages daily, blocking more than 99.9 per cent of spam, phishing and malware.

"Now, we're further expanding spam protections in Google Drive by introducing a new view that makes it easier to separate and review your files, decide what you might view as spam, and stay safe from potential unwanted or abusive content," he announced.

Drive will also automatically classify content into a spam view just like Gmail does, protecting users from seeing dangerous or unwanted files.

The company is also launching a new tool to help people evaluate the reliability of visual content they find online.

'About this Image' will provide users with important context like when an image or similar images were first indexed by Google, where it may have first appeared, and where else it's been seen online like a news, social or fact-checking site.

Google recently became the first major tech company to enable passkey sign-in on its own platform.

Passkeys combine the advanced security of 2-Step Verification (2SV) with the convenience of just unlocking the device.