Google Will Be Deleting Some Gmail Accounts. Here’s What We Know.
Gmail is pretty much the gold standard when it comes to free email accounts. I’m going to go out on a limb and say we all have one.
But, Google is about to go on a deleting spree, and here’s how to know if you’re in danger of losing your Gmail account.
As you can imagine, there are about eleventy hundred little-used accounts on their servers.
Have you ever made a Gmail account for a single-use situation? Like, did you sign up for a free trial of something — think Netflix — and that account is still hanging out there?
Yeah, you aren’t the only one. They have tons of these dormant accounts just sitting and taking up space.
Why Is Google Deleting These Gmail Accounts?
First of all, hackers and spammers.
Email accounts that are just hanging out there are a target for a ton of the spam that we receive.
Second, freeing up space on the servers from these unused accounts will make room for more legitimate accounts.
How Will You Know If Your Gmail Account Is In Danger Of Being Deleted?
The main focus of the purge is going to be accounts that haven’t been used for the last two years.
That doesn’t mean that other dormant accounts are safe, but you are pretty much guaranteed to lose your Gmail account if it hasn’t been used in two years.
What Do You Do If Your Gmail Account Gets Deleted?
According to Marca, having a Gmail account offers you a “multi-access key, with it you can access all the available tools: YouTube, Google Docs, Google Drive, Google Photos, etc.”
If you were to lose your Gmail account, you also lose any data related to it — your Google Docs, your Google Photos, etc.
So, bottom line, you don’t want to lose your Gmail account. There is no getting your info back once it’s gone.
How Can You Ensure You Don’t Lose Your Google Account?
Basically, go use it!
Log onto your Gmail account, and send and receive emails.
Access YouTube or other Google applications — Google Docs, etc. — using your Google ID.
Go to the Google PlayStore, and download a game or two.
Just go use your Gmail account. If they see it is being used, they aren’t — hopefully — going to delete it.
