Google will start deleting inactive accounts this week — here's how to save yours
Do you have a Google account you haven’t used in years? Just a friendly reminder that it could be deleted this week.
In May, the tech giant revealed an updated inactive account policy. An inactive Google account is defined as one that hasn’t been used within a two-year period.
“Google reserves the right to delete an inactive Google Account and its activity and data if you are inactive across Google for at least two years,” reads the policy.
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Well, that deadline is fast approaching. The company says Friday, December 1 is when it will start gradually deleting inactive accounts.
The policy applies only to your personal Google account that you might use for Gmail, YouTube, Google Drive, Maps, Chrome, and more.
It won’t affect any accounts that were set up through work, school or other organizations.
If you have an inactive account, Google should have sent notices to the email affiliated with that account and its recovery address (if it has one).
If you want to keep your account or save its data, here’s what you should do.
How to save your Google account
The answer is simple — make sure to log in to your account at least once every two years.
According to the policy, an account that’s in use might include these actions when signing in:
- Reading or sending an email
- Using Google Drive
- Watching a YouTube video
- Sharing a photo
- Downloading an app
- Using Google Search
- Using Sign in with Google to sign in to a third-party app or service
Exceptions to this policy
There are several exceptions to this policy.
An account can be considered active even if it hasn’t been used within a two-year period if:
- It was used to make a purchase of a Google product, app, service, or subscription that is current or ongoing.
- It contains a gift card with a monetary balance.
- It owns a published application or game with ongoing, active subscriptions or active financial transactions associated with it. This might be a Google Account that owns an app on the Google Play store.
- It manages an active minor account with Family Link.
- It has been used to purchase a digital item, for example, a book or movie.
How to save data from your inactive Google accounts
If you’re okay with the inactive account being deleted but want to save its data, you can download it.
You can export and download your data from Gmail, Documents, Calendar, Photos, YouTube videos, and data about registration and account activity.
If you want to keep these for your records or use the data in another service, you can make an archive, which the company explains how to do here.
When and how to put your account on hold
If you’re someone who goes on military tours or religious pilgrimages, or has received prison sentences that might keep your account inactive for longer than two years, the company advises you to suspend your account.
You can learn more here.
Why the tech giant is deleting inactive accounts
Google says an account that hasn’t been used for an extended period of time is more likely to be compromised by security threats like spam, phishing scams and account hijacking.
“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 Ruth Kricheli, vice president of product management, in May.
“Our internal analysis shows abandoned accounts are at least 10x less likely than active accounts to have two-step verification set up.”
So, don’t forget to log in to your account before Friday! And maybe set up two-step verification while you’re at it.