There are new things and they are not good! Google is preparing to eliminate some Gmail accounts in just three weeks.
Many millions of users of the Gmail email service will lose their accounts very soon. As announced in May, Google will start taking measures next December. The intention is to improve security because, according to a study conducted by the company, accounts with no activity are more likely to be hacked and used for fraudulent purposes, including spreading malware.
Thus, accounts that have been inactive for two years (or more) will be deleted. In this sense, Google reserves the right to eliminate the account and the corresponding content, including documents and files that you have on Google Workspace (Gmail, Docs, Drive, Meet, Calendar) and on Google Photos.
However, this situation will not occur without notice. Indeed, regarding accounts that are in these conditions, Google has taken care to notify users, giving them the possibility of recovering the content that may be stored there. According to the company, inactive accounts are at least ten times less likely to have two-factor authentication enabled compared to active accounts. Google emphasizes that implementing this security measure significantly increases the difficulty for criminals attempting to gain unauthorized access.
So, if you don’t use your Google account regularly, but don’t want to lose it, there are a few steps you can take to avoid being deprived of it:
– Send an email via Gmail;
– Use Google Drive (back up or delete files);
– Install an application from Google Play Store;
– Watch videos on YouTube while logged into your account;
– Use Google search in a connected session;
– Enter a site with your Google account.