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Account deletion will begin on December 1, as Google told users in notifications. |
According to the blog post, Google reserves the right to delete your entire inactive account, including your Gmail, Drive, YouTube and photos. Cleaning will begin in December 2023 and must be notified in advance. Users will receive multiple email notifications to their Gmail address and backup email address on file, if available. Depreciation also occurs in waves. The first set are accounts that were created and then not used again.
To avoid losing your account due to inactivity, most people either have to sign in to their account or use a Google service. Activities can be small, such as reading email, watching a YouTube video, and using Google search (among other activities). However, if the account has a Google One subscription, app or publication, it is automatically protected from deletion. According to 9to5Google, logging into an Android device is also enough to bypass the clipboard, but it remains unclear how active the device must be. (We've asked Google for further clarification and will update the story with more information.)
Google says that removing servers from unused accounts better protects users, as most unused accounts can only be protected with weak or compromised passwords. Inactive accounts also often lack two-factor authentication, the company says. Compromised accounts can be used for identity theft or just to make the internet worse (like sending spam). If you find yourself reactivating your old Google accounts, it might be time to confirm your password (and add it to your password manager) and enable 2FA. If you forget your account and it disappears, you can breathe easy when someone impersonates you. 9to5Google also reports that account names are not circulated — no one else can use them.
To avoid losing your account due to inactivity, most people either have to sign in to their account or use a Google service. Activities can be small, such as reading email, watching a YouTube video, and using Google search (among other activities). However, if the account has a Google One subscription, app or publication, it is automatically protected from deletion. According to 9to5Google, logging into an Android device is also enough to bypass the clipboard, but it remains unclear how active the device must be. (We've asked Google for further clarification and will update the story with more information.)
Google says that removing servers from unused accounts better protects users, as most unused accounts can only be protected with weak or compromised passwords. Inactive accounts also often lack two-factor authentication, the company says. Compromised accounts can be used for identity theft or just to make the internet worse (like sending spam). If you find yourself reactivating your old Google accounts, it might be time to confirm your password (and add it to your password manager) and enable 2FA. If you forget your account and it disappears, you can breathe easy when someone impersonates you. 9to5Google also reports that account names are not circulated — no one else can use them.
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