What to know about Google's plans to delete 'inactive' accounts
Google says it will be deleting unused accounts to minimize security risks. As long as you've logged in recently, your account should be safe.
LEARN MOREPosted: 8:18 p.m. EST Dec 1, 2023
Tech and search giant Google began deleting old accounts on Friday, as had been previously announced.
The warning to users came after the company decided to take the action to prevent security issues. Google says older accounts are more likely to use recycled passwords and not employ up-to-date security measures, including features like two-step verification.
The company announced the move this year. The new rules are said to only apply to individual accounts and not those tied to businesses, schools or official organizations.
The company says accounts that have not been used in a while are more likely to be compromised.
"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," Google said in a statement to users.
The process of deleting accounts will begin with accounts which were created and never used again. Google said it would send multiple notifications to both the account being deleted and a recovery email, if one was provided.
The company is also encouraging users to take advantage of its inactive account manager, which allows the account holder to decide what to do with accounts and data once they become inactive for 18 months.
