Don’t Lose Your Gmail: A Guide to Avoiding Account Deactivation

Gmail users who have not been using their accounts on a regular basis may have their accounts cancelled shortly. Millions of Gmail accounts are on the verge of being erased in December 2023. All accounts that have been dormant for at least two years will be deactivated.

Google Vice President of Product Management Ruth Kricheli indicated that the business is making efforts to limit the likelihood of account removals.

“Google is expanding our inactivity policy for Google Accounts across our products to two years.” “Beginning in December, if a Google account has not been used or signed into for at least two years, we may delete the account and its contents, including content within Google Workspace (Gmail, Docs, Drive, Meet, Calendar, and Google Photos).”

“This is because forgotten or unattended accounts often rely on old or re-used passwords that may have been compromised, haven’t had two-factor authentication set up, and receive fewer security checks by the user,” he said.

“According to our internal research, abandoned accounts are at least 10 times less likely than active accounts to have two-step verification enabled.” These accounts are frequently insecure and once stolen, they may be exploited for everything from identity theft to a channel for undesirable or even criminal information, such as spam,” he added.

Who stands at risk?

The restriction only applies to personal Google accounts that have not been accessed in the past two years. This change will have no effect on the accounts of organisations such as schools or enterprises.

How can you maintain your Google account?

According to Google, the best approach to keep your Google account active is to log in at least once every two years. If you have recently accessed or used your Google Account, it will be deemed active and will not be erased.

To keep your Gmail account active, you do not need to read or send one email. Active users are those who have signed into their accounts to use Google Drive, watch a YouTube video, download an app from the Google Play Store, or utilise Google Search.