Google uses your recovery info to help tell you about changes to your account and suspicious activity.
If there’s something different about the sign-in attempt, Google might ask you to help confirm it’s you, like by tapping a notification on your signed-in phone or entering a verification code.
Alerts for new sign ins
To help keep your account secure, Google uses your recovery info to notify you any time a new device signs in to your account. The alert gives the time and place of the sign-in.
If something looks suspicious to you, for example if you weren’t the one to sign in, go to Your devices to help secure your account. There, you can manage which devices have access to your account and see when they were last used.
Common problems with alerts
My location is incorrect
Sometimes your reported location may be incorrect. We get the general area you're in from your IP address, so you might have activity from locations that are close to your actual location.
I've used my device before
We might send you an alert for a device that you've signed in from before. This can happen if you've recently deleted cookies, updated your browser or an app, or use incognito mode. If you've recently changed the password on your account, you may also receive the new sign-in alert.