Save Your Old Gmail Account from Google’s Purge: Know How

Secure your Gmail! Learn how to safeguard your Google Accounts from the impending purge

Google is set to initiate a cleanup, starting on December 1, deleting inactive Google accounts along with their contents, including Gmail messages, Photos, Calendar appointments, Contacts records, YouTube videos, and Drive documents. This move is aimed at enhancing security by mitigating the risks associated with forgotten or unattended accounts, which are often vulnerable due to outdated passwords and a lack of two-factor authentication.

Reasons Behind Google's Action:

Google underscores the security risks tied to inactive accounts, emphasizing the likelihood of compromise due to outdated passwords and the absence of two-factor authentication. To counter this, Google plans to delete accounts that haven't been used or signed into for at least two years.

Preserving Your Google Accounts:

Preserving your older Google accounts is simple. To prevent deletion, you need to sign in at least once every two years. Activities such as reading or sending an email, using Google Drive, watching a YouTube video, downloading an app on the Google Play Store, performing a Google search, or using Google to sign in to a third-party app or service all count as valid activities.

Account Preservation Criteria:

Activities that maintain account activity include reading or sending emails, using Google Drive, watching YouTube, downloading apps from the Play Store, conducting Google searches, and using Google to sign in to third-party apps. Subscriptions through your Google account, whether to Google One, a news publication, or an app, also count as valid activity.

Exemption for Business and School Accounts:

It's important to note that this account cleanup applies solely to personal Google accounts and not to business or school accounts.

Notification Process:

Google plans to start deleting accounts this week. To alert users, it will send reminder emails to both the primary and recovery email addresses at least eight months before taking action.

Recovery Options for Forgotten Accounts:

For users who forget their Google account details, recovery is possible. If you've forgotten your password, Google provides a recovery tool requiring you to answer security questions to confirm your identity. If you forgot your email address, a recovery tool is available, asking for a phone number or the recovery email address associated with the account.

As Google embarks on this account cleanup initiative, users must ensure continued activity on their accounts. By engaging in any of the specified activities at least once every two years, users can safeguard their accounts from deletion. Additionally, being vigilant about reminder emails from Google and utilizing the recovery options provided will help users maintain control over their Google accounts amid this security-oriented cleanup.