Almost everyone has a Google Account but so are inactive ones. With this, Google has announced that its inactive accounts will be shut down in due time. As long as the Google Account (whether it's Gmail, Docs, Drive, Meet, Calendar, YouTube and Google Photos) has not been used or signed in for at least two years, it shall be deactivated.
The account deletion will only happen to personal Google Accounts, so organizations like schools or businesses will remain. The inactivity policy will take effect today and will roll out in phases whereby the deletion will begin in December 2023. So with all the months ahead, Google will send multiple emails to the inactive and recovery email for a heads up.
The reason for initiating this is that unused accounts are usually compromised due to the lack of two-factor authentication and fewer security checks. According to Google's internal analysis team, an abandoned account is 10x less likely to have the 2-step verification set up. These accounts can easily be used for sending spam emails and scamming users online.
Keeping your Google Account active is easy, all you have to do is just read or send an email, use Google Drive, watch a YouTube video, download an app from the Google Play Store, use Google Search or sign in with your Google ID. To read more details about the updated inactivity policy and creating a backup plan, you can visit the official announcement here.
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