Google emailed me about a recovery email I did not add: should I be worried?

If you clicked the link

A link that only opens a page cannot get into your account or your computer on its own. If you did not type anything in and nothing downloaded, you are very unlikely to be in trouble.

How to put your mind at rest

1. Check the email is genuine. In Gmail, open it, click the three dots and choose "Show original". If SPF, DKIM and DMARC all say PASS and it came from google.com, it really was Google.
2. Run Google's Security Checkup. Type myaccount.google.com/security-checkup in yourself rather than clicking a link. It shows your devices, recent activity and recovery details in one place.
3. Turn on 2-Step Verification, or a passkey if you can. Even if someone got your password, they could not get in without your phone.
4. Ignore anyone who phones you as "Google Support". Google does not call people about their accounts. A common follow-up to these emails is a call asking you to read out or approve a code. Hang up.

If the Security Checkup is all green and nothing in your recent activity looks unfamiliar, you are fine.

Sources

• Google Account Help: Security Checkup
• Google Account Help: Avoid and report phishing emails
• Gmail Help: Check if an email is authenticated

This answer started as a reply in a Reddit discussion.

Frequently asked questions

Google emailed me about a recovery email I did not add: should I be worried?

usually not. That email normally means someone entered your address as the recovery email for their own Google account, by mistake or as part of a scam. It does not mean anyone is inside your account. The real danger is the next step: a page asking for your password, or a phone call asking for a code.