Gmail will be deleting inactive accounts, here’s how you save your account

I know I’m not the only one with multiple Gmail accounts. I have used these accounts for different things over the years and one in particular has been my go-to for free trial sign-ups on the net. Can’t have my main Gmail flooded with promotional material, drowning out the important stuff.

I don’t tend to log into that account a lot, the free trial one that is. In fact, I don’t even remember when last I logged into it and I don’t even remember the password.

Well, Google has had enough of it. They have updated their policy for inactive accounts and will be deleting accounts that have been inactive for over 2 years.

There are details about how it will work that Google is yet to release but here is everything that’s clear so far.

• Accounts that have not been used in two years will be deleted.
• The new policy will go into effect in December 2023.
• Deleted Gmail addresses will not be made available for reuse. If you lose it, it’s gone forever.
• Accounts with YouTube videos will not be deleted.
• You may decide that you don’t need to keep that alternate account anymore, you can always export your data from that inactive account before it is deleted.
• Google will start with accounts that were created and never touched again.
• Google will send multiple notifications to inactive accounts before they are deleted.

How to keep your account active

So, if you don’t want to lose that alternate email address, all you have to do is log in and read or send an email at least once every two years. Here is everything you can do to make sure the account is not deleted:

• Reading or sending an email
• Using Google Drive
• Watching a YouTube video
• Downloading an app on the Google Play Store
• Using Google Search
• Using Sign in with Google to sign in to a third-party app or service
• (Remember you have to be signed into the account for the activities above to count.)

If you can’t do that, then you don’t deserve to keep the account, in my opinion.

The account that won’t be deleted even if you don’t use it for 2 years:

• If you have an existing subscription set up through your Google Account, your account will not be deleted even if you do not use it for two years.
• This includes subscriptions to Google One, news publications, and apps.
• Google considers subscriptions to be a form of account activity, so they will not count against you when determining whether or not your account is inactive.

Also read:

Gmail is getting blue verified checkmarks like Twitter, should help spot impersonators