Tech giant Google has recently announced a new inactivity policy set to take effect from December 1, 2023.
According to Google’s post, accounts that remain unused for a consecutive 2-year period will be considered inactive and may be deleted. This policy applies to all Google products and services, including Gmail.
“When your Google Account has not been used within a 2-year period, your Google Account, that is then deemed inactive, and all of its content and data may be deleted,” Google wrote.
It further said that a Gmail address cannot be used again for a new account once it has been deleted. However, it clarified that users will be notified multiple times before an e-mail is wiped out.
“If your account is considered inactive, we will send several reminder e-mails to both you and your recovery emails (if any have been provided) before we take any action or delete any account content… These reminder e-mails will go out at least 8 months before any action is taken on your account,” it said.
To keep their Google accounts active, users are encouraged to perform any of the following actions when signing in:
- Reading or sending an email
- Using Google Drive
- Watching a YouTube video
- Sharing a photo
- Downloading an app
- Using Google Search
- Using Sign in with Google to sign in to a third-party app or service
“Google Account activity is demonstrated by account and not by device. You can take actions on any surface where you’re signed in to your Google Account, for example, on your phone. If you have more than one Google Account set up on your device, you’ll want to make sure each account is used within a 2-year period,” Google explained.
