Alert Gmail users! Google will delete your account, photos starting December 2023 if...

By Team Newsable | First Published May 17, 2023, 12:32 PM IST

Your Gmail account will be deleted if you do not use it for two years. The new policy will not take effect until December of this year at the earliest. Google had a policy that data stored in accounts that have not been operated for two years might be wiped.

Google will delete your account if you have a Gmail account but haven't used it in more than two years. Google has advised users to log in and check their old Google accounts at least once every 24 months after announcing an amendment to its policy for inactive accounts. Google used to have a rule that said data in accounts that had not been used for two years might be erased totally, but that rule has now changed.

"To lower this risk, we are extending the period of inactivity for Google Accounts across all of our products to two years. Starting later this year, Google may erase an account and all of its data, including those found in Google Workspace (Gmail, Docs, Drive, Meet, Calendar), YouTube, and Google Photos, if it has not been used or signed into for at least two years," Google said in a statement.

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The new policy will not take effect until December of this year at the earliest. This means that the users who are not active on Gmail still have time to retrieve their old account. Users are advised to restore their previous login credentials or hold off until more information on the deletion procedure is available. Notably, the deleted Gmail accounts cannot be recovered.

Google tracks account activity based on a variety of behaviours, including using Google Drive, viewing YouTube videos, installing applications from the Google Play Store, searching, or signing in with Google for third-party apps or services. It is yet unknown, though, if certain account usages, such as creating aliases that route emails, will be liable to termination.

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Google will start by focusing on accounts that were established but never used again once the new policy is in place. In the months preceding deletion, the organisation intends to send repeated notices to the account and any related recovery emails.

In order to avoid having their dormant Google accounts cancelled, users must keep updated about these policy changes and take appropriate action.

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