A few weeks ago, Google announced a significant update to its inactive account policies. The tech giant announced that it will start deleting Google accounts that have not been used or signed into for at least two years. Reportedly, Google is now notifying users about this change so that they can prevent their accounts from auto-deletion.

Google's new policy comes as an effort to prioritize user security and reduce the risks associated with maintaining inactive accounts. In one of the blog posts, Google noted that the new policy will take effect starting from December 2023. The company will be sending out warning emails, starting 8 months in advance, to alert users whose accounts are at risk of deletion. Notably, the deletion will also impact all content stored in the inactive accounts, including Gmail, Docs, Drive, Meet, Calendar, YouTube, and Google Photos. 

"We will take a phased approach, starting with accounts that were created and never used again. Before deleting an account, we will send multiple notifications over the months leading up to deletion, to both the account email address and the recovery email (if one has been provided)," says Google. 

Reason why Google is deleting inactive accounts

Google is planning to delete accounts that have been inactive for two years in order to improve security. The company says that abandoned accounts are at least 10 times less likely than active accounts to have two-factor authentication set up, which makes them more vulnerable to hacking.

Once an account is compromised, it can be used for anything from identity theft to sending spam. Google says that deleting inactive accounts will help reduce the risk of these types of attacks. "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," reads the official blog post.

(With inputs from agencies)