Having extra space in the cloud is always a good thing for file hoarders, heavy media collectors, or just plain old busy people with a lot going on. Google Drive is dangling that reward for its users, but it’s all for a “good cause”. The cloud storage will be giving extra space for those who will voluntarily undergo their Security Checkup, as part of their contribution to the Safer Internet Day and to ensure that all is fine and dandy on your cloud drive.
While of course they reassure us that everything on the Drive is “encrypted in transit” and is relatively safe in Google’s massive data centers, it still won’t hurt to see if you’re taking advantage of what they says is 24/7 protection from Google Drive. The checkup will only take a few minutes (or so they claim, but it may also depend on your connectivity or device you’re using) and if you complete it by February 17, you get an additional 2GB of storage space in the cloud. And they won’t eventually remove that space, because it’s a permanent bump up.
The check-up is actually really pretty quick, if there are no problems to be encountered. It first ensures that your account recovery information is still up-to-date. It then gives you a list of your recent sign-in activities so you can see if there are any suspicious looking sign-ins from places that you don’t normally frequent. Lastly, it gives you a list of all apps and devices that you’ve granted permission to access your Google Drive account. Once you’re done, it will show you three green checkboxes to show if you’re eligible for the upgrade.
All the additional storage will be given to those who’ve completed the check-up by February 28. However, those who use Google Apps for Work and Google Apps for Education will not be able to get the additional storage. They still strongly suggest that you go through the Security Checkup nevertheless.
SOURCE: Google Drive
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