Google has updated its account inactivity policy on Tuesday with an important change. The American giant says all those personal inactive accounts that in the last two years do not register at least one login can be deleted along with all their content. This is a measure that will enter into force in December 2023.
Let’s remember that a Google account is more than a tool that allows you to preserve your search preferences or access your Gmail email. It is the gateway to the entire ecosystem of products and services of the American company, that is, to solutions such as Docs, Drive, Meet, Calendar, Photos, YouTube and more.
The purge of accounts, also in Google
These days, most online services have inactive account deletion policies. To mention a few examples, Twitter says that users must log in at least once every 30 days to maintain their account. In the case of WhatsApp, the period of inactivity to keep the account must not exceed 120 days.
Now, Google’s change is notable because the previous policy stipulated that if a user maintained an inactive account for more than two years, they risked losing the content of the account, not the account itself. This, as we say above, has just changed. It should be noted, however, that this new policy does not apply to business or educational accounts.
Google defends this move, citing concerns related to security threats such as spam, phishing, and account theft. According to the search engine company, accounts that have been inactive for a long period of time are more vulnerable due to weak security measures or passwords reused in other services.
“Once an account is compromised, it can be used for anything from identity theft to a vector of spam or even malicious content like spam.”
With this measure with a defined date, you may be wondering how to keep your accounts active, especially if you have others besides your main account. The recommendation is to log in at least once every two years or maintain activity in it. This means using Gmail, Drive, YouTube, Play Store and other company services.
As for deleting accounts, Google has said it will start gradually from December 2023. “We’ll take a phased approach, starting with accounts that were created and never used again.” They also point out that before deleting an account, they will notify affected users months before by email.
