Google's inactive account purge: Protect your account before December deadline

If you haven't logged into your Gmail, Drive or Google Photos recently, a cautionary alert is in order. Google has officially announced its intention to start purging accounts that have remained inactive for an extended period. The critical deadline for this action is set for December of this year. This alert signifies that certain individuals may lose access to crucial services and personal data in the coming weeks unless they log in and confirm to Google that these services are still actively in use.

Google's official blog post states, "If a Google Account has not been used or signed into for at least 2 years, we may delete the account and its contents – including content within Google Workspace (Gmail, Docs, Drive, Meet, Calendar) and Google Photos."

This new policy was initially announced earlier this year, and Google has confirmed that the earliest deletions will commence in December 2023, which is just a few weeks away.

As long as you regularly use your Gmail, Docs, Calendar, and Photos accounts, you need not worry, as this update won't affect you. It's also worth noting that Google is sending emails to those affected. So, if you haven't received a message from the tech company, your account should remain secure.

Google has also confirmed, "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 (if one has been provided)."

The company asserts that old and inactive accounts are more susceptible to being targeted by cybercriminals, which poses a greater security risk for all web users. This is due to the fact that forgotten or unattended accounts often use outdated or reused passwords that may have been compromised. They also tend to lack two-factor authentication and receive fewer security checks by the user, according to Google.