If you have an old Gmail account that you haven’t logged into in a while, you might want to give it a quick go this week.
Earlier this year Google announced plans to remove abandoned Gmail accounts on December 1, and that deadline is quickly approaching.
Google is getting rid of unused accounts because they are particularly vulnerable to hacks. Hackers often gain control of an old email address and then use it to send scam emails. Abandoned accounts are also less likely to have things like two-factor authentication enabled.
The company plans to start removing accounts that have been inactive for at least two years starting December 1. Accounts will be deleted in a phased manner, so the first to be deleted are accounts that were created and never used.
Although this seems like a big step forward, it’s actually taking things a step further than before. In 2020, Google announced plans to remove content from abandoned accounts such as Gmail and Google Photos.
Account deletions in December will affect Gmail, Drive, Docs, Meet, Calendar and Photos, but the company has said it has no plans at this time to delete accounts that have YouTube or Blogger content associated with them.
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Google said it would send several notifications in the months leading up to account deletion before pressing that self-destruct button, so affected people should have already been sent a notification or two. Notifications are sent to the associated account, which obviously won’t do any good if not in use, but will also be sent to any recovery email address on file.
All you need to do is log in to keep your account active. If you’re someone who has a few accounts that you keep inactive (my spam account comes to mind), now might be a good time to set yourself a reminder to check it every few years.
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