Google 101: Setting up a new Google Account

Google Play, Chromebooks, Gmail ... all these wonderful services start with (and require) a Google Account. And whether you're setting up a professional account to help field headhunters and job offers, or finally offloading one of your tweens to their own account, setting up a Google account is simple and quick, but there are a few tricks to it.

Let's open the door to the wonderful world of Google.

Here is a quick link to the account creation page. As with an account in most places, Google needs some information in order to put a name to the account and so on. Giving the account name, desired Gmail address, password, and your current email — you need a current email of some sort from somebody in order to create a Google Account so there's a backup email to send information if you forget your new login — are all pretty standard. The age restrictions are where things can start to get a little tricky for some users

Google is required to ask you for your age because in certain countries and for certain products, minors of a certain age cannot use them. In the most countries, including the United States, you cannot have a Google account honestly unless you are at least 13 years of age. There are, however, a few countries with higher limits. Spain and South Korea both set the age requirement at 14, while kids in the Netherlands cannot legally obtain an account until they are 16 years old. If you give an age that indicates you're too young to hold an account, that account will be disabled.

There is also an age requirement of 18 for AdSense, AdWords, mature content on YouTube, and on Google Wallet — though your little tykes can still use Google Play gift cards in order to buy movies and games. There are whispers and rumors that there will be managed accounts for children are in the works at Google, but due to the constraints of laws like COPPA — the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act, which limits the kinds of information and tracking companies can collect for users under 13 — that make take a while and the results may still be unsatisfactory.

There's also another small bump that may occur for some users: you have to have a working phone number. Each Google Account is tied to a phone number, and only so many accounts can be tied to the same phone number so as to help cut down on abuse. A mobile number is preferable, but you need at least a landline in order to verify your Google Account.

You can select a voice call or an SMS message, then put in the code they send and you're on your way. Get used to doing this if you are going to protect your new Google Account and its data by enabling two-step authentication, which we strongly suggest you do.

And there you have it! Once you're in, you're encouraged to set up your Google+ profile right away — and we suggest you do that, even if you're not going to use Google+ itself. Google Accounts may seem simple, but setting them up for children — or setting them up without any previous digital presence — can get a little sticky.