Google will start deleting hundreds of thousands of inactive Gmail and Drive accounts in December

A sizzling potato: Google launched a brand new coverage for “inactive” accounts earlier this yr: to reinforce safety, dormant, unused accounts are slated for deletion. The search big will start the enforcement of this coverage on December 1, 2023.

Google has issued initial warnings concerning inactive accounts, these untouched for no less than two years. In three weeks, the up to date Inactive Google Account Policy will come into impact, ensuing within the deletion of hundreds of thousands of Google accounts. Supposedly, all information inside these accounts might be completely eliminated.

As per the revised coverage, an inactive Google account is outlined as one which has remained unused for a interval of two years. Google specifies “exercise” as actions corresponding to being signed in whereas studying or sending emails, using Google Drive, watching YouTube movies, sharing pictures, or downloading apps.

Google emphasizes that account exercise is related to the account itself, not the system. This suggests that customers should carry out actions on any platform the place they’re signed in to exhibit exercise. Moreover, a number of Google accounts should individually present exercise inside the 2-year timeframe to keep away from common digital deletion.

Google’s coverage is relevant solely to non-public accounts and never these related to work, faculty, or different organizations. Google states that the contents and information of an inactive account “could also be deleted,” however the firm ensures that a number of notifications might be despatched to the account and any linked restoration e-mail deal with.

The removing of inactive accounts is motivated by the probability that they’re deserted, forgotten, or unattended, making them susceptible to compromise. In accordance with Ruth Kricheli, Google’s VP, a compromised account could be exploited for malicious actions, together with id theft and spamming.

Google’s notifications encourage customers with inactive accounts to safeguard their non-public info and forestall unauthorized entry, even when they’re now not using Google’s companies. Google accounts are generally used for federated entry on third-party web sites, implying that dropping entry to a Google account would finally hinder customers from accessing these exterior websites.

It is value noting that any account used to put up a number of movies on YouTube might be exempt from the account purge, whatever the interval of inactivity.