Haven't checked Gmail in a while? Google will delete your account

Do you have a personal Google account? If you have not used it or entered it for at least two years, from this December Google may delete the account and its contents to prevent security threats. It should be noted that this is not only about the email account, but also about all the content within the Google Workspace, YouTube and Google Photos.

"This will not affect accounts for organizations such as schools or businesses," Google's vice president of product management Ruth Krichli wrote in a blog post earlier this week.

when will it happen? Starting this coming December as mentioned, and according to Krichli: "Slowly and carefully, with a lot of notice. We will start with the accounts that were created and we will not use them."

Will you be able to tell if your account has been deleted? Yes. Google said it would send notifications to users in the months leading up to the deletion. These emails will be sent to both the account email address and the recovery email address (if provided).

Why does Google do this? for security reasons. Google said that abandoned accounts are at least 10 times less likely than active accounts to be hacked or cyber-attacked. "If an account is not used for an extended period of time, it is more likely to be compromised," Krichli said. "This is because forgotten or unattended accounts often rely on old or reused passwords that may have been compromised, have no authentication set up, and receive fewer security checks by the user. Once an account is compromised, it can be used for anything from identity theft to Unsolicited or even malicious content, such as spam."

Google (Photo: Reuters)

How can you keep your account active? You will need to log into your account once every two years. Google says it's the "simplest way" to keep your account active and ensure your photos and content aren't deleted.

What counts as keeping your account "active"? The activity includes the types of actions you perform when you are connected to your Google account: reading or sending an email, using Google Drive, watching a YouTube video, downloading an application from the Google Play store, using Google search, using signing in with Google to enter a third-party application or service.

Want to save the emails and photos? There is a backup plan if you fear the fate of the documents and photos.

Google also stressed that "it's time to start the house cleaning process" and added that it encourages users to provide a recovery email when signing up. Krichli added that it is important to make sure that the recovery email is updated in your account settings.