If you’ve got a Google account that has sat unused for a while, it is probably a good idea to quickly log in and check on it as Google is planning on purging a whole load of inactive accounts.
Google Inactive Account Purge
As shared by Techspot, Google’s Inactive Google Account Policy is set to come into effect on December 1st which could catch some people out. The policy will delete accounts that have not been active within a 2-year period and this deletion includes all account data and content. Activity is quite simple to define but for Google activity is described as the following things:
- 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
I imagine for most people, this isn’t going to be a major concern as there are few cases where you haven’t used a Google account within 2 years. If it does affect you Google will attempt to give you a chance to save the account by sending email notifications to the affected account as well as the recovery email if one exists. There are also some exceptions which include the following:
- Your Google Account was used to make a purchase of a Google product, app, service, or subscription that is current or ongoing.
- Your Google Account contains a gift card with a monetary balance.
- Your Google Account owns a published application or game with ongoing, active subscriptions or active financial transactions associated with them. This might be a Google Account that owns an App on the Google Play store.
- Your Google Account manages an active minor account with Family Link.
- Your Google Account has been used to purchase a digital item, for example, a book or movie.
If you would like to learn more about the policy be sure to visit the support page which explains everything.
