If you're the type of person with several different Google Mail accounts - each set up with a specific purpose - there's a chance that your accounts could be deleted in the coming days without you even realising.
Why would someone have multiple email accounts?
Unlike cheating partners or online criminals, a person might have a very good reason to set up an extra email account aside from the one they usually use for work/personal life.
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Online shoppers might, for example, have a separate email account set up so that their professional profiles don't become clogged with order confirmations and order receipts.
Often, couples set up joint email accounts which they link to one particular service - for example, one linked to their housing bills or their Wi-Fi, so that these payments are easier to manage.
Individuals with limited phone/camera storage may also use a separate email account as a means of containing the images they've taken, so they don't take up too much space in their personal devices.
And as anyone guilty of any of these actions will know, a change in circumstances can sometimes mean that these accounts are forgotten about, or simply left to lie for a prolonged amount of time...
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What does the new policy mean?
A change of policy set to be introduced by tech bosses on 1 December 2024 will see certain email accounts which haven't been actively used for a while deleted.
As we say, this could mean that important messages, sentimental Google Photo libraries and professional documents created on the app are erased.
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Many Gmail users with multiple email accounts actually started being warned about the risk of their personal items being deleted up to 18 months ago.
Unfortunately, however, the nature of these several different profiles often means that these warnings weren't received, as the accounts are hardly used for anything other than their original purpose.
It is important to note, however, that the policy only applies to personal Gmail accounts - not business or education.
Why has it been introduced?
Apparently, the entire initiative behind the policy is to prevent cybercriminals from using 'old' email accounts as a means of getting hold of users' personal or financial information.
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Ruth Kricheli - VP of product management at Google - explained when announcing the cam "If an account hasn't been used for an extended period of time, it is more likely to be compromised.”
How long does an account have to have been inactive for it to be deleted?
Apparently, the new restrictions set out by Google define the inactivity period as stretching back to around two years.
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"Google reserves the right to delete an inactive Google Account and its activity and data if you are inactive across Google for at least two years," the controversial policy states.
What can you do to prevent the deletion?
In order to prevent the incoming change from affecting your email account, you'll need to show some sign of activity in the coming days.
This could be by reading or sending an email, using Google Drive, watching a YouTube video whilst logged into your email account, sharing a photo from that Gmail profile, downloading an app, using Google Search, or using Sign in with Google to sign in to a third-party app.
Topics: Technology, Social Media
Rhianna Benson