Google May Delete Your Gmail Account and Photos Friday: Here’s Who Is at Risk

Google will start mass-deleting certain accounts starting this week. Here’s how to prevent it.

A teen holds a smartphone and prepares to do a search on Google, where trending search terms are showing, in Sarasota, Fla., on Aug. 18, 2023. Nanette Holt/The Epoch Times

Starting this week, Google will start deleting inactive Gmail, Google Photos, and other Google accounts that have remained inactive for at least two years.

To prevent it from being deleted, sign into your Google or Gmail account before Friday, Dec. 1. According to a company’s post, if the account has been inactive for two years, Google advises a user to read or send an email, use Google Drive in some capacity, watch a YouTube video, download an app from the Google Play service, use Google Search, or sign in with Google to sign into a third-party app or service.

“If you have signed into your Google Account or any of our services recently, your account is considered active and will not be deleted,” the company said in a post outlining the policy earlier this year, warning that accounts will be deleted starting in “December 2023.”

Accounts that were created and never used again will be the first ones to be purged, Google has said.  The mass deletion will not apply to accounts that were created via organizations such as businesses or schools.

Per Google’s online policy, other exceptions include Google accounts that manage active minor accounts, accounts containing a gift card balance as well as those that have been used to purchase Google products, apps, or subscriptions that are ongoing.

If an account hasn’t been for some time, it runs a higher risk of being compromised by malign actors, said Google’s post. “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,” the firm stated.

“Our internal analysis shows abandoned accounts are at least 10x less likely than active accounts to have 2-step-verification set up. Meaning, 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,” it added.

What Accounts Are Impacted?

Inactive accounts that will be subject to deletion include content with Google Workspace, including Calendar, Drive, Docs, Gmail, and Meet. In the case of Google Photos, the company said that one has to specifically log in to Google Photos to keep it active.

“As previously announced, you will need to specifically sign in to Google Photos every 2 years to be considered active which will ensure your photos and other content are not deleted. Similarly, we will send multiple notifications before we take any action,” Google’s post said.

Regarding videos posted to Google-owned YouTube, the company said it doesn’t have plans to delete them—for now. “We do not have plans to delete accounts with YouTube videos at this time,” said the post.

Before the deletion process is initiated, users will receive or should have received several notifications to both the account address and the recovery, or backup, email address, according to the firm.

Backup Data

Beyond keeping a Google account active, there’s a few tools to help manage and backup data.

Google Takeout, for example, allows users to download and export account data outside of Google at any time. And its Inactive Account Manager lets you choose what would happen to your account and data if it becomes inactive, which includes options to send select files to trusted contacts or delete the account entirely.

Google’s online policy also states the company can work with immediate family to close the account of a deceased loved one or provide some account content—without sharing login credentials—on a case-by-case basis. Google asks users to provide and update a recovery email for their account, which is also helpful for sending inactive account notices and other communications.

The tech giant said in its post can delete accounts because it “reserves the right to delete data in a product if you are inactive in that product for at least two years. This is determined based on each product’s inactivity policies.”

No Password?

If you cannot remember the old Google account details, including its password, there is still a chance of recovering it. The Google password recovery tool may be an option, as it asks a user to answer certain questions to confirm the account.

If you forgot their email account address, you might also be able to use the Google account recovery tool. It will ask for a phone number or the recovery address of the account.

Google also advises people to check their email spam folders for a password or account recovery message from the company.

The company also noted that “Google never asks for your password or verification codes over email, phone call, or message. Only enter your password or verification codes at accounts.google.com. If you expected an email from our team but can’t find it, check your spam or junk folder for an email titled ‘Your Google support inquiry.’”

If that doesn’t work, however, Google signaled that you are out of luck. One should “consider creating a replacement Google Account” instead, the firm says on its website.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.