If you have a Google account you have not logged into for a long while, now is a good time to log into your account or you might risk losing your account (and all its stored content) forever.
Google has just announced changes to its inactive account policies which will start rolling out in December 2023. This gives the company the authority to delete accounts that have been inactive for two years. Google has stated that when an account is deleted, its data from services such as Gmail, Docs, Drive, Calendar, YouTube and Google Photos will also be removed.
Google has cited security risks as a reason for the purge on inactive accounts, stating that inactive accounts are more likely to be compromised and used for malicious reasons such as identity theft.
“These accounts are often vulnerable, and once an account is compromised, it can be used for anything from identity theft to a vector for unwanted or even malicious content, like spam.”
Google Vice President of Product Management Ruth Kricheli reports.
This move has certainly caused unrest among some, who worry that old videos from inactive accounts might be deleted. Videos such as ‘Me at the zoo’, the very first video uploaded to YouTube by its co-founder Jawed Karim, the 18 year old clip remains the only video on Jawed’s account.
Thankfully, in an article by 9to5Google, a Google spokesperson has stated that at this time, the company currently has no plans to delete accounts with YouTube videos. It remains to be seen how long it will take till Google decides to also start purging old inactive YouTube accounts.
Google states that when they do start deleting accounts from December 2023, a “phased approach starting with accounts that were created and never used again” will be taken. The company will also send multiple notices to the primary and recovery email of the account holder months in advance, to give them time to log back into their account.
However, just in case, we advise you to log back into your old inactive accounts earlier rather than later to ensure you get to keep the precious contents stored in your accounts.
Germaine is a fun-sized introvert who loves nothing better than sleeping in on rainy days. She can be found reading fanfiction and manga while still waiting for her Hogwarts acceptance letter. It’ll come eventually.
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