Google might delete your Gmail account if you haven’t logged in for a while. The company will delete inactive accounts starting on Friday, December 1st.
If your account has been inactive for at least two years, it’s on the chopping block. The company says it’s removing these accounts for privacy reasons. Plus, it will likely free up space on its servers, points out Engadget.
Back in May, Google announced its plans to eliminate inactive accounts. “If a Google Account has not been used or signed into for at least 2 years, we may delete the account and its contents – including content within Google Workspace (Gmail, Docs, Drive, confront, Calendar) and Google Photos,” reads the Google Blog.
Google will send multiple email warnings before deleting an inactive account, both to the account itself and the backup email if one has been set up. This policy will not affect business or education accounts, though. And if your account has YouTube videos uploaded, an active paid subscription or holiday gift cards, you’ll be saved from deletion.
Google says that it will start by deleting accounts that have never been used.
You’ll need to access your accounts if you want to stop Google from deleting your inactive account. You’ll have to read or send an email, use Google Drive, watch a YouTube video, or other things. Google Photos has its own rules, so if you have any Google Photos you want to save, you’ll need to access Photos separately.
