Google Purges Inactive Accounts after 2 years for security
Google Purges Inactive Accounts after 2 years for security.
On Tuesday, Google, which manages billions of user accounts, said that it would be purging accounts that have not been used for two years. According to the firm, the decision is a part of the internet giant’s ongoing attempts to improve security protocols for its sizable user base.
It also stated, according to the Google’s blog that, Google will also delete the user’s content from Google Workspace, YouTube, and Google Photos as part of the closure of their account. But the new inactivity policy will not affect business accounts and those used by schools. “This update aligns our policy with industry standards around retention and account deletion and also limits the amount of time Google retains your unused personal information”.
Google Purges Inactive Accounts after 2 years for security
“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,” the company wrote in the blog post.
How to keep your Google Account Active
According to Google, “the simplest way to keep a Google Account active is to sign-in at least once every 2 years. If you have signed into your Google Account or any of our services recently, your account is considered active and will not be deleted. Activity might include these types of actions you take when you sign in or while you’re signed in to your Google Account”:
- 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
