Is your Google account going to be classed as inactive? (Picture: AP Photo/Don Ryan, File)
Have you ever wondered what happens to your Google account if you stop using it? With so much personal information stored on our email accounts, it’s essential to know what happens to them should they become inactive.
Internet privacy has become a huge topic over the last few decades, with many of us now needing multiple email accounts for work, paying bills, signing up for newsletters, and personal use.
Just what are the consequences of leaving a Google account untouched for an extended period of time? Can you take steps to ensure your account remains secure even if you’re not using it regularly?
Google has recently announced that it will be changing its policy surrounding inactive accounts.
As such, here is what you need to know.
What counts as an inactive Google account?
Google classes an account as inactive if it has not been used within two years.
From December 1, 2023, Google then reserves the right to delete any account that it classes as inactive, as well as its activity and data.
What classes as Google account activity?
Google will consider an account active if it has done any of the following:
Read or send an email
Used Google Drive
I watched a YouTube video
Shared a photo
Downloaded an app
Used Google Search
Used ‘Sign in with Google to sign into a third-party app or service
If you haven’t used your account to do any of these in two years, Google may decide to delete your account.
If Google determines to take this step, they will notify you by sending email notifications to your Google Account and your recovery email, if any is listed with the account.
You can check your activity status by signing into it.
Full information is available on Google’s website.
Have you checked the status of your old Google account? (Photo by Josh Edelson / AFP) (Picture: JOSH EDELSON/AFP via Getty Images)
Are there any exceptions?
According to Google, you may be safe from having your email classified as inactive if your Google Account:
Purchased a Google product – app, service, or subscription (that is current or ongoing).
Contains a gift card with a monetary balance.
Owns a published application or game with ongoing, active subscriptions or active financial transactions associated with them (like a Google Account that owns an App on the Google Play store).
Manages an active minor account with Family Link.
It has been used to purchase a digital item like a book or movie.
Will this policy affect YouTube accounts?
Fortunately, YouTube’s creator liaison, Rene Ritchie, clarified on Twitter that Google has ‘no plans to delete accounts with YT videos’, meaning that you won’t lose all your old YouTube content.
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