Buzz
(Motherland) - Accounts inactive for 2 years will be removed by Google.
Google will soon conduct a major cleanup of unused personal accounts. The company is now beginning to send notifications to Google account owners who have not logged in for a period of time that their accounts may soon be deleted. Any content within those accounts will also vanish without the possibility of recovery.
Starting from the end of this year, if a Google account remains unused or unlogged in for at least 2 years, Google may delete both the account and its contents, including Google Workspace data (Gmail, Docs, Drive, Meet, Calendar), YouTube, and Google Photos.
Google's rationale for this account cleanup campaign is for security purposes. Internal Google research indicates that long-unused accounts may harbor old passwords susceptible to hacking. Moreover, these accounts may lack essential security features such as two-factor authentication.
Google announces: 'Our internal analysis reveals that abandoned accounts are less likely to have two-factor authentication enabled compared to active accounts. This suggests that these accounts are often more vulnerable to attacks, and once compromised, they can be exploited for any malicious purpose, ranging from identity theft to the dissemination of unwanted content, spamming, or even scams.'
Google will initiate the deletion of unused Google accounts starting from December 2023, beginning with accounts that have been created but never used. Account owners will receive multiple notifications before their accounts are deleted. This action will only apply to personal accounts. Google Workspace accounts for businesses and education will not be affected.
