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The great “cleanup” of no longer active Google email accounts is approaching. The move, announced by Big G in May, involves the deactivation, from December 1st, of any address with a Gmail suffix that has not been accessed for at least two years. The technology giant for “access” considers not only sending messages but also simply reading an email, from any device, as well as logging in to Google Drive cloud files, using YouTube with your profile or sharing photos via Google Photos.
Specifically, the operation is aimed at eliminating the type of email addresses with which a user used Google’s broad-spectrum services, then abandoned for the use of another email account, which also acts as a username for access to services. The policy applies only to personal accounts, not those tied to an employer, school, or other organization.
Once deemed inactive, starting from December 1st Google will be able to delete all contents and data from the account, therefore not only emails but any type of file linked to the profile. As highlighted by Forbes, this includes a variety of information stored by various platforms, including Google Photos, Google Calendar events, Google Docs. As the date approaches, the company will send notifications to your account and to an additional email address, if any. “Google Products reserves the right to delete your data when your account has not been used for a period of 2 years,” Google says. “Due to these policies, the inactive account will be deleted by December 1, 2023.”
There are also other exceptions to deactivation, such as if the account was used to purchase something in the Google Play Store or if it has a digital gift card with an active balance.