Google is going to begin deleting personal accounts that have been idle for the past two years and collecting digital dust. Your old Google or Gmail account needs immediate activation if you haven’t used it in a while.
If you don’t activate your google account googles relative services like drive, calendar, photos, docs, sheets will become inactive.
When do Google account deletions occur?
In May, it was stated that unused profiles would be deleted (Source). The deletions are expected to start this December, starting with accounts that were made but were never used.
Google claims that it will notify users several times in the months following the account deletion date, using the registration email address and any recovery email supplied, before the account is deleted.
How can you prevent this deletion?
Basically, you should log in at least once every two years. Accounts and related services that have had activity recently are deemed current and are allowed to remain.
It counts to read or send emails, use Drive or YouTube, download Android apps, do web searches, log into a third-party app that is linked, or even have a paid subscription like Google One or access news websites through your account.
Additionally, Google has an Inactive Account Manager that allows you to control what happens to your data and account after you stop using it for eighteen months.
You can choose to have everything deleted immediately, auto-forward emails to a trusted account, or set up an auto-reply.
The greatest trick, though, may be to upload a video to YouTube to prevent the deletion of your account—even if it is inactive. These accounts seem secure for the time being as well.
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What prompted Google to implement account purges?
It is an effort to keep users safe from hackers, as stated in the official company blog post that was published in May.
Accounts that are forgotten about have a tendency to use old or recycled passwords, which may have already been compromised.
Additionally, these accounts do not have two-factor authentication setup, and the actual owner of the account rarely performs security checks.
According to an internal Google investigation, accounts that are inactive are at least ten times less likely than those that are being used to have that extra login protection set.
This makes them easy targets for identity theft, spamming, and other nasty misuses.
Remember this deletion process is only for personal accounts not for business and educations organisations.
