Google will purge older accounts.

[Sandra]

Google will purge older accounts in a bid to improve security for millions of current Gmail users

    If you haven't used your account in the last two years, Google could delete it
    Data will be purged from Gmail, Google Photos, Google Calendar, and more
    Google has offered advice to block your account from being removed

Haven't logged into your Google account for a while? Your account could be deleted by Google as part of an ongoing purge to protect its users' data.

Google confirmed plans to remove inactive accounts in a blog post back in May, but it will only begin to delete data starting from December 2023. The Californian internet giant is taking a phased approach, starting with Google accounts that were created and never used again. That probably means your account is safe for now.

But as Google begins to ramp up its process in the coming days and weeks, it will remove photos, videos, emails, and other data belonging to a swathe of older accounts. That includes personal data from Gmail, Google Drive, Google Docs, Google Meet, Google Calendar, and Google Photos.

Accounts that haven't been accessed within the last two years will be earmarked for deletion.

If you've received an email warning about an impending deletion, you can log in to your account to reactivate it

So, as long as you've logged into all of your accounts with Google and Gmail since the beginning of last year, you won't need to fear any data loss in the upcoming purge.

Ongoing subscriptions, like monthly payments for cloud storage via Google One, will also be considered activity by Google and will guarantee your account avoids the chop.