November 13, 2023, 11:38 a.m. |
Reading time: 3 minutes
Google is planning a major cleanup in December. The provider permanently deletes Gmail accounts that have not been used for a long time. If you don’t want to lose your account, you have to take action.
There are people who have several email addresses with different providers. These often serve for different entrances. However, it is important that you log in to your account every now and then. This prevents the risk of a provider deleting an account due to inactivity and releasing the user name for others to register again. Google has already had such a cleanup operation announced in May. The deadline will now expire in December and Google will begin deleting the first Gmail accounts.
Google starts deleting Gmail accounts
Many services on the Internet require regular registration. This is how X sees it (formerly Twitter), for example, requires a login every 30 days so that an account remains active. Otherwise, the provider reserves the right to remove access due to long periods of inactivity.
To date, Google has not required such a login requirement. However, this will change with the upcoming change. Users who have not logged into their Gmail account at least once within the past two years have received instructions to do so in the past few weeks. According to its own statement, Google sent the reminder not only to the Gmail address in question, but also to the stored account for recovery, if one was specified.
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If you do not log in by the beginning of December, Google will delete the corresponding Gmail account and associated access such as Google Drive, Google Calendar and Google Photos. The email address is then shared with other users. The policy only applies to personal Google accounts and does not affect accounts owned by organizations such as schools or businesses. Google also emphasizes that there are currently no plans to delete accounts with YouTube videos.
Also read: This is what happened to the Hotmail email service
That’s why Google deletes inactive accounts
Google cites security as the reason for the newly introduced login requirement. According to Google, an analysis revealed that many accounts that had not been used for a long time were not adequately protected. For example, two-factor authentication is missing, but passwords that are too insecure are often used. Many of the accounts in question are therefore vulnerable to hacker attacks and therefore identity theft.
Also interesting: Link your Gmail account to other email accounts
How to keep Gmail accounts active
Google describes several ways to keep an account active in order to avoid its deletion. This not only includes logging in at least once within two years. Google also recognizes the use of the following offers, although most of them require the login in question:
- Read or send an email
- Use Google Drive
- Watching a YouTube video
- Downloading an app from the Google Play Store
- Use Google search
- Sign in with Google to sign in to a third-party app or service
- Using a subscription set up through your Google Account