Beware! Your personal Google account will be deleted if no login was done in two years
Purge of dormant accounts begins on December 1, 2023
Starting from December 1, 2023, Google will permanently delete inactive Google accounts, including Gmail, Google Photos, Google Drive and other accounts on the platform that have been dormant for two years.
Notably, this policy strictly applies to personal Google accounts. Accounts associated with Google product or subscription purchases, such as extra storage and organisational accounts, will be spared from deletion.
Ruth Kricheli, Google’s VP of product management, emphasised the necessity of this move in a blog post in mid-2023, citing the increased susceptibility of long-unused accounts to be compromised.
Security risk
Long-unused Google accounts often relying on outdated or reused passwords and lacking two-factor authentication, pose a security risk. Abandoned accounts are reportedly at least 10 times less likely to have two-step verification set up, making them vulnerable to various threats, including identity theft and malicious content distribution.
As of 2019, Gmail had 1.5 billion global active users, making it a prime target for scammers.
Google will delete inactive accounts to enhance security and save valuable names and storage space. While the exact number of accounts marked as inactive remains undisclosed, the sheer size of the user base implies a substantial amount of unused storage that Google is currently supporting.
The deletion process will commence on December 1 but will follow a phased approach. Google plans to start with accounts created and never used again. The company will issue warnings to the account’s email and recovery addresses before deletion to mitigate potential inconvenience.
How to avoid deletion
To prevent account deletion, users are encouraged to sign into their Google dashboard, Gmail, YouTube, Drive, or download an app from the Play Store—actions that Google considers account activity.
To provide transparency, Google has outlined ways for users to keep their accounts active. Signing in at least once every two years and engaging in various activities, such as reading or sending emails, using Google Drive, watching YouTube videos, and more, will be considered account activity.
Additionally, Google emphasises the importance of creating a backup plan for account content. Users are encouraged to provide a recovery email during sign-up, and tools like Google Takeout and the Inactive Account Manager offer options to download/export data and manage account inactivity proactively.
This move aligns Google’s inactivity policy with industry standards, ensuring user data is handled responsibly and securely. As users brace for upcoming deletions, Google’s phased approach and communication strategy aim to minimise disruptions while prioritising security in the digital landscape.
