Google to remove inactive accounts after two years

A new rule being implemented by Google states that inactive accounts will be deleted after two years. Any account that hasn't been accessed or utilized since December 1, 2023, will be subject to deletion as of that day. Before taking any action, users will get many emails serving as reminders. The related Gmail address cannot be used again if the account is deactivated. 

“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,” said the company. 

This change starts rolling out now, and will apply to any Google Account that’s been inactive, “meaning it has not been signed into or used within a two-year period”. “While the changes go into effect today, the earliest we would enforce any account deletion would be December 2023,” said Google. 

These changes do not impact users unless they have been inactive in their Google Account for two years or have not used their account to sign in to any Google service for over two years. The simplest way to keep a Google Account active is to sign in to the account at least once every two years. If users have signed in to their Google Account recently in the past two years, the account is considered active and will not be deleted.