We used to think that the internet is written in ink. Everything you do online will remain online forever. It’s clear that this is no longer true. Google wants to kill by deleting any Google Account that it considers “inactive.”

Why does Google delete old accounts?

Google announced Tuesday that it had updated the inactivity policy of Google Accounts. If the account hasn’t been used or logged in for at least two year, Google can delete the account and its data. This includes Google Workspace content (Gmail and Docs), Google Drive, Meet, Calendar, and Google Photos.

Google’s decision was based on security. According to Google, accounts that haven’t had access in over two years are likely compromised because they often have leaked passwords or lack 2FA. This idea, while it may be true (Google claims abandoned accounts are 10 times less likely than active ones to have 2FA), still seems extreme. I know that I have accounts that I don’t use and aren’t compromised. Under this policy, they would be lost.

Google Accounts are not all deleted

Here are some important cautions. Google will not start deleting accounts until at least December, even though this policy change was made official on Tuesday. According to the company, users will also receive multiple warnings. If you don’t use the account, then you will probably miss them.

This change is only applicable to Personal Accounts. Even if you’ve not logged into your school or work account in years, they are still safe. You’re protected if, thirdly, you still have a subscription for an account that you haven’t logged in to for over two years. This counts as activity even if the account isn’t used for anything else.

The change does not applies to YouTube accounts. (Thank god.) After backlash, the company decided to remove YouTube videos and accounts from its original announcement .

Otherwise, it would be a disaster. It is likely that there are many videos on YouTube linked to inactive account. The loss of these videos would be devastating if Google were to delete them. Although I don’t like the new policy, this loophole is a blessing.

How to restore your old Google Accounts

It’s simple to prevent your Google Account from being deleted: Just log in and start using it. That’s it. Google provides a list actions that you can perform to remove your account. These include reading or sending emails, opening Google Drive or Play Store, watching YouTube videos, downloading an app from the Play Store, searching for something or using Sign in With Google to sign into another account.

It’s a good idea to create a recovery email to access your account if you forget the password. It’s important to keep the recovery account active. I lost my Google Account when I lost my recovery email. I couldn’t access verification codes sent by Google to verify my identity.