Google Account Inactivity Policy Update
Attention all Google account holders! Time is running out for those with old Google accounts. Starting from December 1, Google will be deleting inactive accounts along with all their contents, including photos, calendar entries, emails, contacts, and Drive documents. This move is part of Google's updated account policy aimed at protecting users from security threats such as spam, phishing scams, and account hijacking.
What You Need to Know
If you want to keep your account active and save your data before Google begins deleting inactive accounts on Friday, here's what you need to do:
- Log in to your Google account
- Ensure your account is active by performing any activity
- Review your account settings and update your password if necessary
- Enable two-factor authentication for added security
Why is Google Taking This Action?
Google's decision to purge inactive accounts is based on their assessment that these accounts are more susceptible to compromise. Inactive accounts often have outdated or reused passwords, receive fewer security checks, and are less likely to have two-factor authentication enabled. According to Google's internal data, these accounts are 10 times more likely to lack two-factor authentication.
When an account is compromised, it can be used for various malicious activities, including identity theft and the dissemination of unwanted or harmful content such as spam.
Make sure to act now to prevent the deletion of your Google account and the loss of your valuable data!
Google to Delete Inactive Accounts Starting December 2023
According to a notice on Google's updated policy, the company will begin terminating inactive accounts on December 1, 2023. The first accounts to be eliminated will be those that users created but never revisited.
Which Accounts are Being Purged?
Google's new policy states that accounts that have not been used or signed into for at least 2 years may be deleted. This includes content within Google Workspace (Gmail, Docs, Drive, Meet, Calendar) and Google Photos. However, this policy only applies to personal Google accounts and does not affect school or business-managed accounts. Accounts with uploaded YouTube videos or active subscriptions to apps or news services will also not be removed.
Google has stated that affected users will receive multiple notifications before their accounts are terminated.
How to Prevent Deletion of Your Google Account
To ensure that your Google account remains active, sign into your account and use any of Google's tools such as Gmail, Google Drive, Google Photos, and Google Play. According to Google's account policy, these actions will signal that your account is active.
How can I save my Google data?
- Reading or sending an email
- Using Google Drive
- Watching a YouTube video
- Downloading an app on the Google Play store
- Using Google Search
- Using Sign in with Google to access a third-party app or service
Some Google users may want to download their data, or simply back it up while letting their old accounts expire. To do so, you can go to this Google site, which explains how to use its Google Takeout service to save your data.
Google Takeout will allow you to decide whether to download all your data, or if you want to save data from specific services like email or photos. You can also download the data to different services, such as Dropbox or Microsoft OneDrive.
