Google announced that it will delete all the inactive accounts starting from December 2023. The tech giant said Google Accounts that have not been used or signed in for at least two years will be deleted along with its contents – including content within Google Workspace (Gmail, Docs, Drive, Meet, Calendar) and Google Photos.
The Alphabet owned company said the move is part of their new policy.
“If an account hasn’t been used for an extended period of time, it is more likely to be compromised. This is because forgotten or unattended accounts often rely on old or re-used passwords that may have been compromised, haven’t had two-factor authentication set up, and receive fewer security checks by the user,” said Google Inc.
“Our internal analysis shows abandoned accounts are at least 10x less likely than active accounts to have a two-step verification set up. Meaning, these accounts are often vulnerable, and once an account is compromised, it can be used for anything from identity theft to a vector for unwanted or even malicious content, like spam.”
The tech giant advised users to keep their accounts active by doing the following:
- Reading or sending an email
- Using Google Drive
- Watching a YouTube video
- Downloading an app on the Google Play Store
- Using Google Search
- Using Sign in with Google to sign in to a third-party app or service
