Google has issued a three-week warning to inactive Gmail account holders to update their records or lose the account. The internet search giant plans to shed millions of Gmail accounts that have been inactive for up to two years. The move will see affected account holders losing emails, documents, photos, and videos permanently.
The removal of inactive Gmail accounts is part of a major update to the email service. All personal Gmail accounts that have been dormant for at least two years will be affected by the purge. The policy which was introduced this year is expected to kick into force by December 2023. Google says it is updating its inactivity policy for Google Accounts to two years across all Google products. The policy also limits the amount of time that Google can retain such unused personal information from dormant accounts.
The move by Google to delete inactive Google accounts has positive safety implications. It is expected to protect active Google users from security threats like Phishing, account hijacking, and scams. Dormant Google accounts are at higher risk of being compromised by hackers. Affected inactive or dormant Gmail account holders will be sent multiple notifications before any action is taken.
The attached recovery email address of affected accounts will also be sent the notifications. Google indeed has already started sending emails to the affected accounts. Account holders with a risk of deletion of their accounts can prevent it by opening or sending a mail, opening Google Drive, or downloading an app from the Google Play Store. They can also simply make a Google search while they are logged in to the account.
Gmail has grown to become a huge email platform and it continues to expand, having a ubiquitous appeal. Google says any account that has posted a YouTube video will not be impacted, irrespective of when it was last active.
Related:
