Google will purge accounts that have been inactive for two years

Anyone who has a Google account that they haven’t used for a long time will need to hurry up and sign in: Google communicated that will cancel accounts that have been inactive for at least two years. According to the Cupertino company, it is a choice to protect privacy, but it could also be a way to save space on its servers.

Google will delete inactive accounts (for at least two years)

Starting at the end of the year, anyone with an inactive account for two years will receive one warning email that it will be disabled if you don’t log in within 60 days. After deactivation, you will have another 60 days to log in before that Google deletes it altogether. So in total, you have about four months to recover your account.

Google will send warning emails to both the account at risk and any recovery emails you set up. But it’s worth pointing out that deleting an account means you will lose access to Gmail, Drive, Docs, YouTube, Google Photos, Meet and Calendar. This rule only applies to personal accounts, so work or school emails won’t be affected.

While Google’s privacy argument might be an excuse not to say, “We want to spend less,” there is some truth to that explanation as well. Beyond don’t have updated passwordsabandoned accounts have ten times less likely to have two-factor authentication, which makes them easier to hack. If you have registered old emails for bank accounts or social networks, the risk could be very high.

Google has a web tool to help avoid account deletion. His inactive account manager notifies those with dormant accounts more often, allowing you to choose what to do with your data. If you have old accounts, it’s a good idea to check that you don’t have any information you need: from old photographs on Android smartphones to account data of all kinds. Check it out later this year.