Is your Gmail account inactive? Google will DELETE it soon!

Google will delete inactive Gmail accounts and their contents, with the process beginning next month! Here's why.

Your Gmail account could be at risk of deletion. Know why. (Unsplash)

Google is set to go on a purge and will delete boatloads of Gmail accounts that haven't been used in some time. The email service offered by Google is one of the most popular in the world, with features such as AI-assisted replies, and a secure 2-step verification process. In May, the tech giant announced that it was changing its policy which earlier involved only deleting the content of the Gmail account, and not the account itself. However, that has now been changed, putting millions of inactive Gmail accounts at risk. Know what this purge means and how you can secure your account.

Which accounts are at risk?

Google's new inactive policy states that if your Gmail account is inactive and you have not accessed it in over two years, Google can delete the account and its contents within Google Workspace, which includes Drive, Meet, Docs, as well as YouTube and Photos. Google has further clarified that this policy only applies to individual accounts and not accounts for organizations. 

While it was announced in May, Google said that the changes would only be made starting December 2023, which is now just a month away. The account deletion process will be carried out in a phased manner, with accounts being created but never used being the first ones facing the axe.

Why is Google deleting accounts?

Announcing this change, Google said that their internal analysis shows that inactive accounts are 10 times less likely to have 2FA set up, and that could make these accounts susceptible to hacks and leaks. Therefore, inactive or never-used accounts could be taken over by threat actors and used to carry out nefarious activities.

Ruth Kricheli, Google's VP for Product Management said, “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.”

How you can secure your account?

To keep your Gmail account status from going inactive, Google says you only need to log in once every two years. You don't even need to sign in to Gmail, but any Google-related service that will change your account status to active.