Google says account breaches fell by half since turning on 2SV by default

The company announced that it has successfully auto-enrolled over 150 million users in two-step verification.

What you need to know

• Google claims there was a 50% decrease in account breaches after auto-enrolling users in two-step verification last year.
• The search giant intends to push the security feature to even more accounts this year.
• Google also reiterated its plan to eliminate the reliance on passwords and make the sign-in experience more convenient.

Google has revealed that its push for a default two-step verification last year led to a significant drop in account compromises. More than 150 million users were automatically enrolled in 2SV, and 50% of those accounts were protected from breach.

The initiative kicked off in October of last year in an effort to prevent unauthorized access to accounts, including those of YouTube's two million creators. It marked a significant leap in Google's security efforts, moving from offering 2SV to users as an optional protective feature to making it the default setting.

Google said the drop in account breaches "speaks volumes to how effective having a second form of verification can be in protecting your data and personal information." However, it didn't reveal how many accounts exactly were compromised.

"And while we're proud of these initial results, and happy with the response we have received from our users and the community, we're excited about other ongoing work we're doing behind the scenes to make our users even safer," Guemmy Kim, director of account security and safety at Google, wrote in a blog post.

The search giant vowed to continue its 2SV auto enrollments in 2022, bringing the security feature to more accounts that have not yet enabled it. Meanwhile, you can check out our detailed guide on how to turn on two-factor authentication on your Google account.

Google also highlighted a few security best practices to keep your account safe, such as doing a security checkup and making use of Google Password Manager. The latter is one of the best password managers for Android, and it's built right into Chrome and the Google app.

But even passwords will soon become a thing of the past. Google reiterated its commitment to developing new technologies that will replace passwords, such as physical security keys.