In May, Google made an official announcement stating that they will begin deleting personal accounts that have been inactive for two years. This process will start in December 2023. The reason for this drastic decision is that older accounts are often the main targets for hackers. This is because they may have weak passwords, similar to those used by compromised accounts found on the dark web. Additionally, they can become victims of harmful actions such as receiving spam, falling for phishing scams, and having their accounts hijacked.
According to Independent, Google has begun sending email reminders to users who have inactive accounts. These reminders are being sent to both the affected accounts and the recovery addresses. The purpose of these reminders is to inform users that their accounts are being deleted due to security concerns. People who are affected will receive an email explaining that this action is being taken in order to safeguard their personal information and prevent any unauthorized access to their account, even if they are no longer using the services. Deleting accounts can pose a problem for individuals who have used specific email addresses to register on various websites in the past. This is because deleting these accounts may result in losing access to those particular sites as well. Additionally, you can also read about- Epic Games Suit Against Google Kicks Off, Alleging Play Store Abuses Monopoly Power
Google has stated that they will delete all data from their services, including Gmail, Docs, Drive, and more. But it’s worth mentioning that if a YouTube video was uploaded using an account, the account itself won’t be deleted. This is because deleting the account could also result in the removal of all the older content on YouTube. If you’re one of the people affected and you don’t want your account to be deleted, make sure to send an email, download an app from the Play Store, or watch a YouTube video using that account before December. This will ensure that there is some activity on your account.
It’s important to note that Google is only deleting personal accounts, so if you have an enterprise or education email address, you won’t be affected. However, it’s important to note that once the process is initiated, it cannot be reversed. Therefore, it is crucial to take appropriate actions and decisions.
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