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Gmail to delete inactive accounts: Google announces deletion of Gmail accounts and surprises users. Learn how inactive Gmail accounts are characterized and how to avoid deletion, if yours is on the list.
Starting this December, the giant Google will begin to apply a new policy of deleting Gmail accounts that have been inactive for more than two years. If you have an account that you don't use very often but want to keep it active, you'll need to take some steps to avoid deletion. Gmail will delete inactive accounts and in this article we'll explain everything about this initiative.
Understand the reason for deleting inactive Gmail accounts
According to the company, the rule is not limited to inactive Gmail accounts only. All data linked to the account in Google workspace, including Docs, Drive, Meet, Calendar files, and also photos stored in Google Photos will be permanently deleted. The process of deleting Gmail accounts began in December last year and is scheduled to resume in the last month of 2024.
According to Google, Gmail will delete inactive accounts, but affected users will be notified in advance. To avoid Gmail account deletion, it is essential to access the account and register an updated recovery email.
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According to Ruth Kricheli, vice president of product management at Google, inactive Gmail accounts are especially vulnerable. She explains that once compromised, they can easily be used for malicious practices, such as identity theft, sending spam or spreading unwanted content.
How to prevent inactive Gmail accounts from being deleted?
According to the Google Account help page, an account is considered inactive when there has been no interaction with the company's products for a period of more than two years. To avoid Gmail account deletion, keep an eye on your notifications, as Google sends alerts to both the email account and the recovery email.
It is also recommended to periodically use Google services, with simple activities such as sending an email via Gmail, using Google Drive, such as saving or deleting files, installing an application via the Google Play Store, watching videos on YouTube while logged into the account, performing searches on Google with the connected account, accessing a website using your Google account.
These simple practices ensure that your account remains active and protects your data stored on Google services.
A Google account can be considered active even without direct interactions for up to two years, as long as one of the following conditions is met:
- Managing secondary accounts, such as Family Link;
- Gift cards with balance;
- Applications or games with active subscriptions;
- Purchases of products, services or subscriptions;
- Purchases of digital items, such as books or movies.
How to recover a deleted Google account?
If your account has been deleted, it may not be possible to recover your old data, depending on the length of time it has been inactive.
To check for recovery, the user must go to the account recovery page, enter their associated email or phone number, and answer a few security questions. If the account is recovered, Google will instruct them to create a new password that has not been previously used for that account.
It is worth mentioning that another issue that is making many users uneasy is the lack of space in their accounts. Keeping your Google account clean can also help optimize storage space. Some tips include deleting unnecessary emails, cleaning up Google Drive, optimizing Google Photos, reviewing and deleting apps or games, among others.
