Attention Gmail users: Google to delete your unused accounts

Google has announced that it will start deleting unused personal accounts that haven't been logged into for two years or longer. 

The warning includes services like Gmail, Google Docs, Google Drive, Google Meet, and Google Calendar, as well as content within Google Workspace, YouTube and Google Photos. However, Google's Vice President of Product Management, Ruth Kricheli, assures that this policy only applies to personal Google accounts and will not affect accounts for organisations like schools or businesses.

The earliest Google will begin deleting accounts is December, and they plan to do so "slowly and carefully, with plenty of notice". Before deleting an account, Google will send multiple notifications over the months leading up to deletion. These emails will be sent "to both the account email address and the recovery email (if one has been provided)."

For security reasons, Google says abandoned accounts are at least 10 times less likely than active accounts to have two-step-verification set up — and are often vulnerable to wrongdoers. Abandoned accounts often rely on old or re-used passwords that may have been compromised and haven't had two-factor authentication set up, and receive fewer security checks by the user. Once an account is compromised, it can be used for anything from identity theft to a vector for unwanted or even malicious content, like spam.

To keep your account active and ensure your photos and content are not deleted, Google recommends that you sign in to your Google Account once every two years. Reading or sending an email, using Google Drive, watching a YouTube video, downloading an app from the Google Play Store, using Google Search, or using Sign in with Google to sign in to a third-party app or service are all examples of activity that will count towards keeping your account "active".

If you're worried about the fate of your old documents, photos, and other records, Google recommends starting the housekeeping process. It's also important to provide a recovery email at sign-up and make sure that this recovery email in your account settings is up-to-date.

So, make sure to keep your account active by signing in once every two years and provide a recovery email to keep your data safe.