Google decides to delete any account that has two years of inactivity. See how they decide to go about it.
Exception for YouTube Video Posters:
Notably, any account that has posted one or more videos on YouTube will be exempt from the account purge, regardless of the period of inactivity. This exception ensures that users who have contributed content to the platform will not lose their accounts.
I hope this doesn’t mean they will be opening up the email addresses for use after they delete/clear them
I think that would be a security nightmare, so they probably won’t (and they’ll probably be forced to not do it if they try)
When deleting a Google account, they warn you about your username won’t be reclaimable. So I assume this will be the same.
I thought they had already done it. I got the notification months ago.
an inactive Google account is one that has not been used for a continuous period of two years. Google defines “activity” as actions such as signing in to read or send emails, using Google Drive, watching YouTube videos, sharing photos, or downloading apps.
That feels okay to me?
It is, though 2 years is a little short. I just got back into my very first Yahoo e-mail not long ago and that wouldn’t have been possible with a policy like this.
But, they have so many that have been stagnant for so long so I’m not really faulting them for this particular move.
Microsoft killed off my pre-MS Hotmail account years back. Google’s got lots of company with the 2 years rule.
Signing in to what, though?
I have one account that only ever gets used via a third party email client. When I check my email, am I “signing in” by Google’s definition or not?
Yes, your 3rd party email client uses your username and password to SIGN IN, which constitutes as signing in for Google.
Are you sure? I’ve had accounts before where only signing in to the official web UI or client counted (because that’s where they showed ads and grabbed telemetry).
So while WE would consider using third party clients to be signing in, THEY may define it differently.
Oof. What do I do with all those websites referring to my other gmail account I never use… I don’t want my main gmail to receive these messages.
Sign into it at least once a year.
So. Years back. When they did that ad where parents sent a kid emails to their own Gmail and then gave them the account details when they were grown up… Everyone who ever did that are gonna lose all their work if they don’t think to log in periodically. Nice.
Do it mf. DO IT!!!
Stop threatening me with a good time.
