Google has updated its inactive account policies for Google accounts and confirmed that it will delete Google accounts that have been inactive for two years. This policy change applies only to personal Google accounts. It doesn’t apply to Google Accounts for schools or businesses.
Google said that if a Google account has not been used or signed into for two years, the company will delete the account. If the account is deleted, data of all Google products including Gmail, Docs, Drive, Meet, Calendar, YouTube, and Google Photos associated with the account will also be deleted.
“While the policy takes effect today, it will not immediately impact users with an inactive account — the earliest we will begin deleting accounts is December 2023,” says Google.
Google will also send multiple notifications to these accounts and their recovery emails before deletion.
If you do not want an account to be deleted, you should start using it again. You can start accessing emails, Google Drive, YouTube, search, or third-party apps using ‘Sign in with Google.’ Any one of these activities is enough to keep an account active. If you have an active subscription set up through a Google Account, it will be considered an active account even if you are not using it for a long time.
If you no longer want to use that inactive account, you are advised to export your data associated with the account using Google Takeout.
