Google is deleting inactive Gmail accounts - here's how to stop yours disappearing

You can do a lot of things with a Google account – two of the most common examples being using Gmail to send an email to someone, and YouTube to subscribe to content creators and popular channels. Except, under changes announced by the tech company in May 2023 and implemented from December that year, it could well be deleted if it is considered to be “inactive”.

Back in 2020, the policy only concerned a specific product offered by Google – say, Google Drive or Gmail – but the 2023 change meant an inactive account deleted by the company would see the entire account gone for good.

In an update posted by Ruth Kricheli, vice president of product management, the decision was informed by internal analysis which found abandoned, inactive accounts are at least 10 times less likely to have two-factor authentication enabled – a security feature which requires users to take an additional step alongside entering their password to access their account.

“People want the products and services they use online to be safe and secure. Which is why we have invested in technology and tools to protect our users from security threats, like spam, phishing scams and account hijacking.

“Even with these protections, if an account hasn’t been used for an extended period of time, it is more likely to be compromised. This is because forgotten or unattended accounts often rely on old or re-used passwords that may have been compromised, haven't had two factor authentication set up, and receive fewer security checks by the user,” she said.

So what does Google now define as an “inactive” account?

Well, per its helpfully named Inactive Google Account Policy: “An inactive Google Account is an account that has not been used within a 2-year period. Google reserves the right to delete an inactive Google Account and its activity and data if you are inactive across Google for at least two years.”

Google does have some exceptions, though – such as if an account was used to purchase a Google product, or a subscription that is current or ongoing; the account has a gift card assigned to it with some balance remaining; or it was used to purchase a digital item such as an e-book or movie.

In those cases, the two-year rule doesn’t apply, and an account is safe regardless of if it hasn’t been touched for such a period.

However, if an account doesn’t meet the few exemptions, then worry not, there are some things you can do with the account to tell Google it is very much not dead.

Examples it gives of activity which deems an account active include: reading or sending emails; using Google Drive; watching a YouTube video; searching something on its search engine; or using Google to sign-in on a third-party app or website.

Google also says that in the case of multiple inactive accounts, “you’ll want to make sure each account is used within a 2-year period”.

And just to give you plenty of opportunities to save your account from destruction, Google will send notifications to the account in question, along with the recovery email associated with the account if there is one.

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