Prevent Google From Deleting Your Account

by Steve Yates

The ITS Connection Online Newsletter

This May Google announced a new policy to delete inactive accounts, as soon as December 2023. This can affect situations like:

  • Signed up to complete a device setup
  • Signed up a child years ago
  • Signed up a parental account to manage/monitor a child's account
  • Signed in on an old phone to store photos
  • Forgotten your account password so can't log in

This can affect services such as:

  • Gmail (you'll lose the email address as well as messages)
  • Files in Google Drive or Docs
  • uploaded photos
  • Google Calendar
  • Blogger, AdSense, and any other Google site/product

Per Google policy (link below) "Google reserves the right to delete an inactive Google Account and its activity and data if you are inactive across Google for at least two years." Reading an email or being signed in while searching or using YouTube are examples of sufficient usage. They just need to see the account do something. Having an active/paid subscription on the account also counts. Note this change affects personal Google Accounts, not those for schools or businesses.

If you do not often use Google services, consider setting an annual calendar reminder to sign in.

Google's first move will be to remove accounts that were created but never used, and then expand from there over time to remove inactive accounts.

Save Your Google Account

Google's Inactive Account Manager feature (link below) can alert someone else (e.g. a spouse or parent) if an account is inactive.

If you have not set up an account recovery email or phone number (link below) now is a good time. You don't want to be running out of time and trying to remember a password.

 

July 2023

Send this article to a friend!
Subscribe to The ITS Connection

Related articles