To reduce the risk of inactive Google accounts getting ‘compromised,’ the tech giant on Tuesday announced an update to its inactivity policy. Under the new guidelines, any Google account that has not been used for at least 2 years, will be deleted; previously, this applied to accounts not used for 2 years.
FILE - This Thursday, Jan. 3, 2013, file photo shows Google's headquarters in Mountain View, California. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)
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“Our internal analysis shows abandoned accounts are at least 10x less likely than the active ones to have 2-step-verification set up. Meaning, these are often vulnerable, and once compromised, can be used for anything from identity theft to a vector for unwanted or even malicious content, like spam,” Ruth Krichelli, Vice President, Product Management, said in an official blog post.
The updated policy, Krichelli noted, shall be rolled out ‘slowly and carefully,’ and with ‘plenty of notice.’
Here is all you need to know about the updated policy:
(1.) Though already effective, it will not impact people immediately. The company will begin deleting unused accounts from December onwards.
(2.) Accounts inactive since being created will be the first ones to be affected.
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(3.) Only personal Google accounts will be hit. However, those related to organisations such as schools and businesses will not be deleted.
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(3.) Only personal Google accounts will be hit. However, those related to organisations such as schools and businesses will not be deleted.
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(4.) Before final deletion, multiple reminders will be sent, on both primary email address (Gmail) and the recovery email (if provided).
(5.) The deletion of an account will also affect content within Google Workspace (Gmail, Docs, Drive, Meet, Calendar), YouTube, and Google Photos.
(6.) To keep a Google account functional, one must sign-in at least once every 2 years, if not regularly or daily.
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