In a few weeks, Google will start making space on its servers by deleting millions of inactive accounts. Check if you’re affected before it’s too late!
Be careful if you have Google accounts that are gathering dust, because Gmail is preparing to do a major cleanup on its servers! Google warned at the beginning of the year: from December 1, it will begin to delete Gmail accounts considered inactive, email addresses and content included! If, for several years now, the digital giant has erased stored data in order to recover storage space, it has not touched the account itself. However, he decided to revise his email usage policy, granting himself the right to delete the email address, emails, calendar events, files in Google Docs, backups of Google Photos and YouTube accounts – unless they host videos. In short, it’s the big clean-up! The goal for the company is twofold: to save storage space on its servers and to strengthen security – with unused accounts more likely to be compromised.
For Google, an account is considered inactive if it has not been used at all for a period of two years. Also, to avoid its deletion on the fateful date, simply read or send an email with Gmail, use Google Drive, watch a video on YouTube, download an application from the Play Store, perform a Google search, subscribe to a subscription from the Google account, choose the “Sign in with Google” option to connect to a third-party application or service, or simply use an Android device connected to the account in question. In short, it only takes a few seconds!
Don’t panic, however, the accounts you no longer use will not disappear overnight! Google will first send several notifications to the email addresses concerned as well as to their recovery addresses, if this is provided. Google’s new measure will be applied “slowly and carefully”according to one “gradual approach”, starting with accounts that have never been used since their creation. It will only concern free accounts, and not those managed by a company or school. Note that there are some exceptions. For example, if the account in question was used to purchase something from the Google Play store, if it has a gift card with an active balance, or if it is used to host YouTube videos, the Internet giant will not touch it, even after more than two years of inactivity. Suffice it to say that there is little chance that you will lose important content in this process, even if we advise you to take a look at your different accounts to be sure.