Last Call for Gmail: Google’s Two-Year Expiration Clock is Ticking – Take Action Now!

If you have a Gmail account but haven’t used it in more than two years, Google will permanently delete your account. Yes, Google is advising Gmail users to retrieve their login information if they haven’t logged into their accounts in a while. After announcing a change to its policies regarding inactive accounts, Google recommended users to login and verify their old Google accounts at least once every 24 months. In order to reduce security threats, Google will deactivate accounts older than two years. According to the company, accounts that have been abandoned have a substantially lower possibility of having two-step verification enabled than current accounts, making them much more vulnerable to hacking.

The policy covers all Google Workspace stuff, including Gmail, Docs, Drive, Meet, and Calendar, in addition to YouTube and Google Photos. Ruth Kricheli, Google’s vice president of product management, recently indicated in a blog post that this account deletion policy only pertains to personal Google Accounts and won’t impact accounts connected to organizations like schools or businesses.

WHEN WILL THIS TAKE PLACE?

The new regulation won’t take effect until at least December of this year. This suggests that those who don’t routinely use Gmail still have access to their old accounts. Users are urged to use their old login information again or wait until more details about the deletion process are available.

One thing is clear that deleted Gmail accounts cannot be restored. However, with secondary accounts, this is not typically done. According to Google, maintaining membership in services like Google One is one way to show that you are regularly using Gmail.

The Reason Behind:

Google’s account cancellation policy is motivated by security. According to the firm, accounts that have been abandoned have a substantially lower possibility of having two-step verification enabled than current accounts, making them much more vulnerable to security risks. These abandoned accounts frequently utilize passwords that have been used before and may have been cracked, don’t use two-factor authentication, and get fewer security audits from account owners. A dormant account can be used for a variety of things once it gets into the wrong hands, from identity theft to the spread of undesired and sometimes harmful content, including spam.

Once the new policy is in place, Google will begin by concentrating on accounts that were created but never used again. In the months preceding deletion, the organization intends to send repeated notices to the account and any related recovery emails.

How To Keep Your Google Account Active?

Users are required to sign in to their Google Account at least once every two years to avoid having their accounts deleted. According to Google, this is the simplest and most reliable way to preserve account activity and prevent the deletion of images and other content. Google advises preemptive precautions for people worried about the potential loss of their emails, images, and other crucial documents. This involves making sure a recovery email is given when creating an account and checking that the recovery email listed in the account settings is current. By doing this, users may create a solid backup strategy and lessen the chance that they will lose important data.

If your account gets deleted, you won’t be able to access your email address, emails, messages, calendar, documents, files, photos, and related content. Google has further clarified that this policy will only be applicable to personal accounts. The company accounts, or accounts of schools, businesses, and organizations will all remain unaffected. The reason behind deactivating or deleting the dormant accounts as per Google is that such accounts come at high-security risk and become targets. So for security purposes, the policy has been made.

You are required to sign in to your account once a year to give Google a signal that you are an active user. Moreover, if you send or receive mail, use Google Drive, watch YouTube videos, search tabs, download through the Google app store, etc., your account will be considered active and will remain safe. Importantly, you would now require to sign in especially to Google Photos every two years in order to be considered active. If you don’t do so, your account will be deleted; however, Google will send you multiple notifications before doing so.

WAY FORWARD

Users can guarantee the lifespan and preservation of their emails, images, and crucial documents with sufficient account activity and the deployment of extra security measures.

Google advises preemptive precautions for people worried about the potential loss of their emails, images, and other crucial documents. This involves making sure a recovery email is given when creating an account and checking that the recovery email listed in the account settings is current. By doing this, users may create a solid backup strategy and lessen the chance that they will lose important data.