Google has announced plans to delete inactive accounts and all their content if no one has logged into them in two years.
This includes everything stored in Gmail, Docs, Drive, Meet, Calendar and Google Photos.
The tech giant is updating its policy on inactive accounts in order to improve security.
So if you have a spare Google account you’ve forgotten about, now might be a good idea to log in if you don’t want to lose important data or pictures.
‘If an account hasn’t been used for an extended period of time, it is more likely to be compromised,’ said Ruth Kricheli, VP product management at Google.
‘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,’
Abandoned accounts are at least 10 times less likely than active accounts to have 2-step-verification set up, making them vulnerable.
Once an account is compromised, it can be used for anything from identity theft to a vector for unwanted or malicious content like spam.
The policy will only apply to personal Google Accounts and not affect accounts for organizations like schools or businesses.
This update is also supposed to limit the amount of time Google retains your unused personal information.
Google has assure that the feature will be rolled out ‘slowly and carefully’ with users will be given plenty of notice before their account is deleted.
While the policy takes effect this week, it will not immediately impact users with an inactive account. The earliest they will begin deleting accounts is December 2023.
‘We will take a phased approach, starting with accounts that were created and never used again,’ said Kricheli.
‘Before deleting an account, we will send multiple notifications over the months leading up to deletion, to both the account email address and the recovery email.’
What about accounts of deceased users?
Google confirmed that the update will apply to unclaimed accounts of deceased users as well.
The tech giant has the option of allowing immediate family members and representatives to close the account of a deceased person. In certain circumstances content from a deceased user’s account could also be shared with them.
As a preemptive measure, you can use Google’s ‘Inactive Account Manager’ to decide what happens to your account and data when it’s inactive for a up to 18 months. To set it up, go to your Inactive Account Manager page and click Start.
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