My Ad Center will give Google users more influence over ads later this year

Google will introduce new privacy features during its I/O keynote. At the end of this year, users will have access to a My Ad Center, where they can, for example, indicate that they want to see more or fewer advertisements from certain brands or topics.

The ad settings within the My Ad Center apply to Google Search, YouTube and the Discover feed, writes the company. This hub allows users to customize which ads they see. Users can indicate that they are interested in different categories, or that they want to see fewer advertisements from a certain theme or brand.

It also makes it easier to request Google to extract certain data from the search index, such as phone numbers and home addresses. This has been possible for some time, but in the coming months an associated tool will be available that should simplify that process. It is then integrated into the Google app.

In addition, the company comes with some new security features. Google Docs, Sheets and Slides now protect users against phishing and malware. The company does that in the same way it does with Gmail. For example, according to Google, users are warned when they try to open Docs documents, Sheets spreadsheets and Slides presentations with phishing links or malware. The company is also moving forward with enabling two-step verification by default.

Android and Chrome will receive support for virtual credit cards in the United States this summer. This function works via the Autofill function and generates a separate credit card number for each transaction. These only work for specific transactions, although they can also be used for recurring transactions, for example for taking out subscriptions. VISA, American Express, Mastercards and Capital One are collaborating, among others. It is unknown if or when the feature will be available outside the US.

My Ad Center and Virtual Cards