Common questions about Advanced Protection Program.

People whose accounts contain particularly valuable files or sensitive information should consider Advanced Protection. Google strongly recommends that journalists, activists, business executives, and people involved in elections enroll.

If you’re at high risk for targeted online attacks, we recommend enrolling both your work and personal accounts, and possibly even your family members’ accounts.

If you have a Workspace Account (an organizational Google Account) you can enroll it individually with admin approval. Start the enrollment process to see if your admin has already enabled Advanced Protection. If not, speak to your admin directly.

Yes. In fact, we recommend enrolling all of the accounts in any organization that might be targeted, such as a campaign; a political, journalist, or activist group; or an election-related organization.

The Advanced Protection Program is a free service. However, you may need to purchase a security key if you don’t have one.

You’ll need to have at least one security key with you when you enroll. You can purchase a Google’s Titan Security Key or any key that supports the FIDO^® open standard. You’ll also have an opportunity to view recommended keys during enrollment.

If you’re part of a federal campaign, you may qualify for a free Google Titan Security Key. Google has partnered with Defending Digital Campaigns (DDC) to help safeguard campaign accounts, and make it easier for campaigns to enroll in Advanced Protection. Check your eligibility.

Yes. Add an email and phone number to your Google Account, so it’s easy to recover if you get locked out.

Most of your day-to-day account activity will not feel different.

• The biggest change will be that one of your security keys will be required when you sign in to your account on a new device (or sign in on your phone after signing out).
• You may find you receive more alerts or warnings before downloading a file or installing an app. Strong protections against malware are built into all Google products, such as Google Play Store and Google Chrome, but Advanced Protection performs even more stringent checks.
• A number of account security features that were optional will be automatically turned on and kept on for your account.

Advanced Protection requires an external physical security key when you sign in to your account on a new device, just as you would have for your house or car. Accounts that require keys are much safer from attacks than accounts that only require a password. Without having your actual key in their possession, hackers are unable to gain access even if they know your password.

You’ll need at least one security key to enroll in Advanced Protection, and we strongly recommend adding a second key as a backup during, or very soon after enrollment.

Types of keys

There are many kinds of external keys. You might plug a USB key into your device, keep a Bluetooth key nearby, or hold an NFC key close to your phone when you sign in.

You can purchase Google’s Titan Security Key or any key that supports the FIDO^® open standard. You’ll also have an opportunity to view recommended keys during enrollment.

You’ll need your security key for signing in to your Google Account on a new device, or in case you sign out of your account on your phone and then need to sign back in. This may not happen often, but you’ll want your key handy when it does. Remember to take it with you when you travel.

If you lose your key and are still signed in on one of your devices, visit account.google.com to add or replace a key. Otherwise, submit a request to recover your account. Google may take a few days to verify it’s you and restore your access.

To further protect accounts at a high risk of attacks during the U.S. election season, you can request enhanced security for your account here.

To make political organizations safer with Advanced Protection, we’ve partnered with Defending Digital Campaigns to provide free Titan Security Keys. Contact the DDC to see if your team is eligible for free keys.