Google has issued a warning regarding the potential deletion of inactive accounts, alerting users to log in and confirm their active usage of services like Gmail, Drive, and Google Photos. The tech giant plans to initiate the deletion process for dormant accounts by December this year, focusing on accounts that have remained unused or unaccessed for at least two years.
According to Google’s official blog, accounts inactive for a minimum of two years might face deletion, erasing their content within Google Workspace applications like Gmail, Docs, Drive, Meet, Calendar, and Google Photos.
This policy, announced earlier in the year, is scheduled to begin implementation in December 2023, a few weeks away. Active users of Google services need not be concerned about this update affecting their accounts. The company is actively communicating with affected users via email, assuring account security for those who have not received such notifications.
Google stresses its intention to send multiple notifications to the account’s email address and the recovery email before account deletion, as a precautionary measure. The company points out that inactive accounts are more vulnerable to cyber threats due to potential security risks posed by forgotten accounts, including the use of outdated or compromised passwords, lack of two-factor authentication, and minimal security check-ups by the user.
This action aims to mitigate security risks associated with dormant accounts, although users actively engaged with Google’s services need not worry about their accounts facing deletion.
