The biggest announcement from Google, however, is a major update to their account management policy. Permanently deleted accounts starting from December 2023, if no activity ever after two years. This is meant to boost security while reducing usage of resources. If you use Gmail, Google Drive, or any other Google service, it’s important to know how to prevent losing your account and the data you store on your active account.
What Does the Policy Mean?
According to Google, under this new rule you are charged as inactivity if you have done nothing with your account for two years. The affected services include:
- Gmail: The emails you send, receive and store will be deleted.
- Google Drive: But it will erase all of your documents, spreadsheets, and other files.
- Google Photos: They will permanently remove your saved memories.
- YouTube: Subscriptions, videos, and comments, will be gone.
This policy protects users against potential threats such as spam and security risks because inactive accounts are more susceptible.
What Happens if Your Account Is Inactive?
If your account is deemed inactive, the consequences are significant:
- Account Deletion
Your account will be permanently closed. - Data Loss
Without the ability to recover the content, all associated content, including emails, files and photos will be lost. - Disconnected Services
Subscriptions for apps or logins to any third party services linked to the account will be turned off.
How to Keep Your Account Active
It’s easy to keep your account from being deleted. Perform at least one of these actions every two years:
- Log in your Google account from any device.
- Use Gmail to send or read an email.
- Edit or Access files in Google Drive.
- Browse through photos in Google Photos photos or upload your own.
- Comment on YouTube or watch a video.
- Apps or games from Google Play downloads.
- Search while you are logged into your account.
All these activities tell Google this account exists.
Which Orgs Is This Policy Not Applied To?
Some accounts are excluded from the inactivity policy:
- Purchases: Google products or services purchase accounts.
- Subscriptions: YouTube Premium, Google One, or other accounts they are actively subscribed too.
- Monetary Balances: Gift cards and payment credits to accounts that have a balance in them.
- Family Link: This includes accounts that are using Family Link to manage a child’s Google account.
- Published Content: Anyone who has published an app or game.
If your account is not active and you meet any of the following criteria, we will not delete your account.
- Preventions to Protect Your Self
To ensure your account remains active and secure: - Set Up Reminders
Set up calendar alerts to keep reminding you to cheque your account often. - Enable 2FA (Two factor Authentication)
Also prevent unauthorised access by adding an extra layer of security. - Update Recovery Information
Ensure your email and phone number used for recovery is up to date so you can get important notifications for your recovery.
Why This Policy Matters
The Google’s initiative for this step has included enhanced security and better resource utilisation. It’s a chance for users to clean up unused accounts and keep the ones they still use safe.
By doing what I just did — staying proactive — you can keep your account open so you can keep on using Google’s amazing tools and services.