Google rolls out My Account, a new dashboard that promises better privacy and security controls

If you’re spooked by how much Google seems to know about you, well, Google has heard you. Which, come to think of it, might be spooky in and of itself. But, never mind.

The company today announced that it had launched My Account, a new dashboard designed to make it easier for users to control the settings related to their privacy and data.

“My Account gives you quick access to the settings and tools that help you safeguard your data, protect your privacy, and decide what information is used to make Google services work better for you,” wrote Guemmy Kim, a Google product manager for account controls and settings, in a blog post.  “It also provides more context to help you understand your options and make the right choices for you.”

The company announced My Account at its Google I/O conference last week in San Francisco.

Among the new features, My Accounts includes a step-by-step Privacy Checkup and Security Checkup so that people can better understand how their data is being used, and where they may be vulnerable.

There’s also an ‘Ads Settings Tool’ to help refine the ads you see based on your searches, which can be handy no doubt if your kids spend all day searching for One Direction news and you really, really don’t want to see any One Direction ads.

Finally, the company also created a companion privacy site, to answer your questions about how and where Google collects and uses your data.