An urgent deadline has been issued for all Gmail users - and Google could delete your account next month. Google has confirmed that accounts will start being deleted next month unless users follow some simple advice.
The new policy was announced earlier this year with Google confirming that the earliest it will begin deleting accounts is December 2023. If you use your Gmail, Docs, Calendar and Photos accounts on a regular basis you won't need to worry as the update won't affect you.
"If a Google Account has not been used or signed into for at least 2 years, we may delete the account and its contents – including content within Google Workspace (Gmail, Docs, Drive, Meet, Calendar) and Google Photos," tech giant Google confirmed in a post on its blog.
"Before deleting an account, we will send multiple notifications over the months leading up to deletion, to both the account email address and the recovery email (if one has been provided)," Google confirmed. Google says the change is being made for security purposes.
Old and inactive accounts are far more likely to be targeted by fraudsters. "If an account hasn’t been used for an extended period of time, it is more likely to be compromised," Google also warned. "This is because forgotten or unattended accounts often rely on old or re-used passwords that may have been compromised, haven't had two-factor authentication set up, and receive fewer security checks by the user."
Google says that its own analysis has revealed unattended accounts are also at least ten times less likely than active accounts to have 2-step verification set up. Having this set up makes it harder for scammers and fraudsters to gain and garner access to accounts worldwide, Google says in its security pages and guidelines for its many users.