In the world of Google, free accounts are subject to deletion | Google provides up to 15GB of free cloud storage for each Google account, including Gmail accounts. Some time ago, many people took advantage of this and created multiple Google accounts to use them as free storage space. However, Google has been tightening its policies in this regard in recent years and has now announced its intention to take action against specific types of Google accounts.
Google is targeting inactive accounts
In 2020, Google announced that it would delete the content stored in long-unused accounts, such as files in Google Drive/Google Photos, to free up storage space. However, the accounts themselves were still preserved under this policy. However, in the recently updated inactive account policy, Google has stated that it will begin deleting old unused accounts starting later this year.
In a recent blog post by Google, it has been stated that “if a Google account remains unused or unlogged for at least two years, Google will delete the account and its contents.” This means that not only will you lose access to your Gmail email address, but also all the emails, calendar events, Drive, Docs, Workspace files, and Google Photos backups associated with the account will be permanently deleted. However, it’s important to note that the deleted account names and email addresses will not be made available for registration by others.
However, there is an exception. If the account has uploaded at least one YouTube video, considering that old videos may hold historical significance, the account can be preserved. It’s worth mentioning that this policy only applies to free personal Google accounts and does not include accounts managed by businesses or schools.
Starting from December 2023, Google will begin deleting unused accounts. Before the account deletion takes place, Google will send multiple notifications to the account’s email address and backup email address (if provided) over the course of several months.
7 Essential Actions to Keep Your Google Account Active
To ensure that your Google account is not considered inactive, apart from logging in regularly, there are 7 basic actions that can be considered as “activity”. These actions include:
- Reading or sending emails (e.g., checking for idle alerts)
- Using Google Drive
- Watching YouTube videos
- Downloading applications from the Google Play Store
- Using Google search
- Logging into third-party applications or services using your Google account
- Using Android devices with the logged-in account
Why Does Google Delete Accounts?
Google’s recent policy changes have been driven by security concerns surrounding inactive accounts. These idle accounts often have outdated or reused passwords that are susceptible to being compromised. Additionally, internal analysis from Google reveals that the number of abandoned accounts with two-step verification is at least 10 times fewer than active accounts.
Two-step verification has been a security feature strongly promoted by Google and other internet giants. However, it’s evident that users who neglect their accounts for extended periods are unlikely to consider adding an extra layer of security.
This means that these idle accounts are comparatively more vulnerable. Once an account is compromised, it can be used for various illicit activities, ranging from identity theft to the dissemination of malicious content such as spam emails. Simultaneously, retaining inactive accounts also means that Google is storing a significant amount of unused personal data, which contradicts industry standards in the era of increasing privacy awareness. Hence, the introduction of this new policy.