Google’s Warning: Take Action or Lose It All – Gmail, Photos, and More

Google’s Stringent Action: Inactive Accounts Face Elimination After Two Years of Inactivity. Users to Lose Access to Important Google Apps and Features.

Attention Google account holders, it is time to dust off those forgotten profiles. Google, the tech giant, has made some changes to its policy for inactive accounts. They want users to log in and check their old, unused Google accounts regularly. If you don’t do this, your dormant accounts that haven’t been active for two years might get deleted.

In a blog post authored by product manager Ruth Kricheli, Google reveals a significant policy update for inactive accounts. Departing from their previous stance of potentially wiping data from accounts untouched for two years, Google now declares the possibility of completely deleting such accounts. As part of its ongoing commitment to user safety, this decision aligns with its mission to prioritize security and minimize potential risks associated with maintaining unused accounts.

The Purpose of Google Removing Inactive Accounts

Google wants to keep people safe by deleting accounts that are not used. When accounts are not used for a long time, threat actors can easily do bad things. These accounts might have old or used passwords that were stolen before, so it’s important to delete them.

Accounts that are not used often are less secure than active ones. Google’s research shows that abandoned accounts are at least 10 times less likely to have extra security measures in place. This makes them more vulnerable to bad things happening. When an account gets taken over by someone else, they can do all sorts of harmful things, like stealing someone’s identity or spreading unwanted and even dangerous content, such as spam.

If you haven’t used your Google account for two years, Google will delete it and everything inside it. This means that not only will you no longer be able to access your email address, but also all your Gmail messages, files in Drive and Docs, Calendar events, and even your Google Photos backups will be permanently deleted.

What Should You Do to Save Your Inactive Google Account?

To make sure you don’t lose your account, all you need to do is use it regularly! Simply log in, send emails, upload files to Drive, share pictures on Google Photos, and do the things you usually do with your Google account. Remember, it’s important to log in and check on your account every few months.

Google also said that, before completely deleting an account, they’ll make sure to send you several messages reminding you. These messages will be sent to the email address associated with your account as well as the recovery email address you provided if you have one.

Read Also: How To Remove Google Account Permanently From Android & iOS Phone

Signing-Off

Don’t worry, Google won’t begin deleting inactive accounts until at least December 2023. When they start, it will be done gradually and in different stages. They will start by removing accounts that were made but never used after that.

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