Google will be deleting inactive personal accounts soon. If you have an old Google account that you haven’t used in a while, it’s important to log in soon. Any related services like Google Docs, Gmail, Drive, Calendar, Meet, and Photos will also be lost if your account is deleted. The inactive account deletion begins this Friday, December 1. Google claims to do so for privacy and also to wipe off the digital dust lying on its cloud servers. Notably, Google isn’t the only one to lead this approach. Microsoft came up with a similar approach when it deleted inactive Outlook accounts for two years.
Google could delete accounts that haven’t been logged in for 2 years
Google had announced in May that it would be wiping off the inactive accounts in December. It confirmed sending multiple notifications to both the email and recovery email over the months before deleting them. The Google account deletion will not impact other organization accounts like businesses and schools.
It notes, “If an account hasn’t been used for an extended period of time, it is more likely to be compromised.” And explains, “This is because forgotten or unattended accounts often rely on old or re-used passwords that may have been compromised, haven’t had two-factor authentication set up, and receive fewer security checks by the user.
How to keep a Google account active
Google recommends logging into personal accounts at least once every two years. Those who have recently used Google Account or any of the services linked to it, need not worry. Your account is considered active, and you don’t need to worry about it being deleted. Activities that count as being active include things like reading or sending emails, using Google Drive, watching YouTube videos, downloading apps from the Google Play Store, doing searches on Google, or using your Google account to sign in to other apps or services.
2023-11-30 15:08:30