Google accounts to be deleted ‘in weeks’ if you haven’t logged in enough – see if you’re safe before deadline

GOOGLE is almost ready to start deleting accounts that aren’t used regularly.

The deadline There are only seven weeks left to prevent the killing.

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Billions of people around the world have used Google, but many accounts are now inactive.

Google says deleting old accounts can protect them from being hacked by cybercriminals.

If you haven’t used or signed in to your Google Account for at least two years, you’re at risk of having your Google Account deleted.

You will lose the entire account and all associated content.

This means you will no longer have access to the data in Gmail, Docs, Drive, Meet, Calendar, and Photos.

Google has already changed the policy to apply a two-year usage rule.

However, the deletion was delayed until December 1, 2023.

This means you still have time to log in to save your account.

In a blog post, Google explained how the deletions are intended to protect users from cybercrime.

“If an account has not been used for a long period of time, it is more likely to be compromised,” Google said.

“This is because forgotten or unattended accounts are often based on old or reused passwords that may have been compromised, do not have two-factor authentication set up, and are subject to fewer security checks by the user.”

According to Google, abandoned accounts are 10 times less likely to have two-factor authentication enabled.

And it warned that these “vulnerable” accounts could be hijacked by fraudsters for identity theft and spam.

Google will not delete all inactive accounts immediately.

However, a “phased approach” to deletion will be initiated, starting with accounts that were created and then never used again.

You will also be warned if your account is about to be deleted.

“Before we delete an account, we send multiple notifications to both the account email address and the recovery email address (if one exists) in the months prior to deletion,” Google said.

How to save your Google account

You have several options to protect your account from deletion.

“The easiest way to keep a Google Account active is to sign in at least every two years,” Google said.

“If you have recently signed in to your Google Account or one of our services, your account will be considered active and will not be deleted.”

Ways to keep your account active include:

• Read or send an email
• Using Google Drive
• Watch a YouTube video
• Downloading a Google Play Store app
• Using Google Search
• Using Sign in with Google for a third-party app or service

If you have an active subscription like Google One, your account is also protected from deletion.

And any Google account with uploaded YouTube videos will be protected from removal.