Google to delete inactive Gmail, Photos accounts: how to save your account

In an old policy, the company said it might remove your data if your account is inactive, but now Google says these accounts could be wiped completely. Take a look at the matter.

What will happen to inactive Google accounts?

According to the tech giant, it will delete a Google Account and all its information if it hasn’t been used or signed into for at least two years. Users won’t be able to access several features and apps, including the email address, Gmail messages, Drive, Docs, Calendar events, Workspace files, or Google Photos. Note that this policy only affects personal accounts and does not affect accounts for schools, companies, or organisations.

Google said they would do this slowly and carefully and give users plenty of notice:

• Even though the policy goes into effect today, it won’t affect users with idle accounts right away.
• Google won’t start deleting inactive accounts until December 2023 at the earliest.
• Google will take a step-by-step method, starting with accounts that were made but never used again.
• Google will send multiple emails to both the account email address and the rescue email (if one has been given) in the months before deleting an account.

Why will Google delete an account if found inactive?

Even if an account has several security measures, it is more likely to be hacked if it hasn’t been used for a long time. This is because lost or unattended accounts often use old or reused passwords that may have been broken into, don’t have two-factor authentication set up, and have fewer security checks by the user.

The company said its analysis shows that inactive accounts are less likely to have 2-step verification set up as compared to active accounts. This means that these accounts are often open to being hacked, and once an account has been hacked, it can be used for anything from stealing someone’s name to sending spam or other unwanted or even harmful content.

How to keep your account up and running?

• Reading or writing an email
• Using Google Drive
• Watching a video on YouTube
• Getting a program from the Google Play Store
• Google Searching
• Using Sign in with Google to use a third-party service or app