Google is updating the inactivity time for a Google Account before deletion to two years across all products and services. Google states it is protecting your private information and preventing any unauthorized access to your account even if you are no longer using Google’s services.
An inactive Google Account is defined as an account that has not been signed into or used within a two-year period:
- These changes do not impact you unless you have been inactive in your Google Account for two years or have not used your account to sign in to any Google service for over two years.
- While the changes go into effect today, the earliest we would enforce any account deletion would be December 1, 2023.
- If your account is considered inactive, we will send several reminder emails to both you and your recovery emails (if any have been provided) before we take any action or delete any account content. These reminder emails will go out at least 8 months before any action is taken on your account.
- After a Google Account is deleted, the Gmail address for the deleted account cannot be used again when creating a new Google Account.
Google has provided exceptions for this new rule:
A Google Account with YouTube channels, videos or comments; an account that has a gift card with a monetary balance; or an account that has a published application, for example, one that hosts an app on the Google Play store.
If a user has logged in the past two years, your account is considered active and will not be deleted. Other ways to keep your account active include:
Reading or sending an email
Using Google Drive
Watching a YouTube video
Sharing a photo
Downloading an app
Using Google Search
Using Sign in with Google to sign in to a third-party app or service
