Google to start purging dormant accounts next month, here's how to save yours

Millions of people use Google, be it for personal reasons or for work-related business. Google has many functions as well, the most obvious is its emailing system, but it also has other options, like Google Photos, Google Calendar and so on.

The company has announced that it will start deleting all dormant accounts starting in December. What does Google consider a dormant account? Don’t worry, we have all the answers for you!

Google is deleting dormant accounts

As reported by Express, Google has posted on its blog that in a few weeks, it’ll start deleting all dormant accounts. Google considers an account dormant if it hasn’t been signed into in at least two years.

Per Google’s blog post:

If a Google Account has not been used or signed into for at least 2 years, we may delete the account and its contents - including content within Google Workspace (Gmail, Docs, Drive, Meet, Calendar) and Google Photos.

This policy was announced earlier this year and Google has confirmed it’ll start the process in December 2023.

So if you regularly use your Google accounts, you have nothing to worry about. Google also explained in its blog post that the accounts that will likely be deleted will receive several notifications beforehand and will also receive notifications to the recovery email as well.

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).

So if you want to save your account, simply log in more regularly.

Why is Google deleting dormant accounts?

So why has Google suddenly decided to delete dormant accounts? It may have something to do with security. As per Express, Google explained that dormant accounts are more likely to be targeted in cyber attacks.

This poses a threat to users as the hacker could use the information retrieved for anything from identity theft to unwanted or malicious content.

If an account hasn’t been used for an extended period of time, it is more likely to be compromised.

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.

Read more:

⋙ Gmail: Billions of users warned Google could soon delete your account, here’s how to prevent it

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⋙ Google warns millions of Android users to delete these apps today

Sources used:

Express: ‘Urgent deadline for all Gmail users - Google could delete your account next month’