Search engine platform, Google, has announced plans to delete inactive accounts after two years.
The changes are set to begin today, August 8, 2023, and will apply to any Google Account that has not been signed into or used within a two-year period.
In a press statement made recently, Google averred that the changes do not impact its users unless they have been inactive in their Google Account for two years or have not used their account to sign in to any Google service for over two years.
While preparing for the changes, the search engine company disclosed that the earliest it would enforce any account deletion would be December, 2023.
“If your account is considered inactive, we will send several reminder emails to both you and your recovery emails (if any have been provided) before we take any action or delete any account content. These reminder emails will go out at least eight months before any action is taken on your account.” The company said.
“After a Google Account is deleted, the Gmail address for the deleted account cannot be used again when creating a new Google Account,” it further explained.
On how to keep Google accounts active, the search engine advised its users to sign into their account at least once every two years.
“If you have signed in to your Google Account recently in the past two years, your account is considered active and will not be deleted,” it assured
Other ways to keep one’s account active include: reading or sending an email; using Google Drive; watching a YouTube video; sharing a photo; downloading an app; using Google Search and using Sign-in with Google to sign into a third-party app or service, Google disclosed.
There are, however, some exceptions to this policy, the search engine stated, adding that, “examples include: a Google Account with YouTube channels, videos or comments; an account that has a gift card with a monetary balance; or an account that has a published application, for example, one that hosts an app on the Google Play store”.
