If you haven't logged in to a Google account that is a few years old, it might be deactivated.
The tech giant will commence the elimination of their inactive accounts as of Friday, per its policy regarding such accounts.
The company declared that it would implement their plan in stages, beginning with those accounts that "were created but never further utilized".
Logging in or sending an email should be sufficient to retain the account's active status.
Google cited security concerns in explaining the alteration, noting that accounts that are forgotten or not in use are more likely to be subject to attack.
Having a Google account enables individuals to access the majority of Google services like the email service Gmail and video-sharing website YouTube with the same username and password.
A blog post issued by the tech giant in May explained that the vulnerability of older accounts is mainly due to the fact that they often recycle passwords or stick with the same one and they rarely have two-factor authentication enabled.
Once an account has been taken advantage of, it may be employed for anything from identification fraud to malicious material and junk mail.
In many instances, logging in should suffice to ensure your Google account will remain operational for a further two years.
Google suggested that participating in activities such as composing or receiving emails via Google Drive or viewing YouTube videos might be beneficial.
It's advisable to have an available recovery email associated with your account after you log in; this way, you'll get notifications.
A recovery email address is used to reset your password in the event that you forget it.
Google declared that notifications to both breached accounts and their associated recovery email addresses have been sent to alert them of the upcoming deletion.
Individuals are urged to log into Google Photos every two years to stay considered an active user, or else their photos and other data could be erased. A reminder will be sent prior to this.
The firm stated that Google accounts created for an individual by their work or school are exempt from the deletion policy.
Accounts that have bought an ongoing Google service or subscription, as well as those that are employed for managing a child's active account via Google's Family Link feature, are likely regarded as actively used and exempt from the breach of the deletion policy.
There is no need to worry if you have logged in to your account recently, as that indicates that it is considered to be in use and therefore will not be eliminated.
Are you aware of whether your Google account is being terminated? You may contact haveyoursay@bbc.co.uk.
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