How to Check if Your Gmail Account Has Been Hacked

Expert guide to see if your Gmail has been hacked

Co-authored by Luigi Oppido

Last Updated: August 26, 2022

Email privacy has become more and more of a concern each day. Emails are used to access sites of different kinds, especially sites that store personal information, such as credit card information, personal addresses, and phone numbers. Because of this, it’s important to make sure that you are the only person who has access to your private account.

Part 1

Part 1 of 2:

Checking Your Account Settings

1
Log into your Gmail account. Passwords are case-sensitive. Typing “password” isn’t the same as typing “PASSWORD”.
2
Click your avatar. It's located in the upper right corner of your browser.

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3
Click “My Account”.
4
Click on “Sign-in & security”.
5
Click “Device activity & notifications”. It's located in the sidebar on the left.
6
Click “Review events” under “Recent security events”. Here, you'll be able to see any sign-in activity in the past 28 days.
7
Go back. Click the back button (left arrow) in the top left corner of your browser next to the URL address bar.
8
Click “Review devices” under “Recently used devices”.
9
Secure your account. If you see any strange sign-in activity or devices you don't recognize, click “Secure your account” at the top of the page.

Part 2

Part 2 of 2:

Changing Your Password

1
Log into your Gmail account.
2
Click on your avatar. It's in the upper right hand corner of your browser.
3
Click on “My Account”.
4
Click “Sign-in and security”.
5
Scroll down to “Password & sign-in method”.
6
Click on “Password”.
7
Enter your current password.
8
Enter your new password.
9
Click “Change password”.
10
You will be signed out of all devices that currently has access to your email.
11
Log into your account again using the new password.

Expert Q&A
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Question

How can I tell if my email has been hacked?

Luigi Oppido
Computer & Tech Specialist
Luigi Oppido is the Owner and Operator of Pleasure Point Computers in Santa Cruz, California. Luigi has over 25 years of experience in general computer repair, data recovery, virus removal, and upgrades. He is also the host of the Computer Man Show! broadcasted on KSQD covering central California for over two years.

Luigi Oppido

Computer & Tech Specialist

Expert Answer

Support wikiHow by unlocking this expert answer.

If you notice that your email is being flooded with random spam mail, that's a sign that it's been hacked. You can also visit haveibeenpwned.com and enter your email address to see whether it's been compromised in a data breach. If you're worried your email has been hacked, change your password right away.
Question

What do I do if the hacker changed the username and/or password?

Community Answer

Press "Forgot Email?" or "Forgot Password" and you should be redirected to a screen that asks for your email if you selected "Forgot Password?". You should then verify your email and you then can create a new password and, if you would like to, sign into Google security with a phone number which can prevent future incidents.
Question

Can I find out the hacker's e-mail or anything?

Community Answer

Most likely you can't. If you were hacked, report it to Google.