Google is deleting accounts as part of a major purge (Picture: Getty)
Google is continuing to delete Gmail accounts that haven’t been used in more than two years.
The company revealed last November it would be deleting inactive Google accounts, including Gmail, as part of a major purge.
To be classed as inactive, an account should not have been logged onto via any of the Google services, including Gmail or Google Photos during the past couple of years.
Users should receive a number of warning emails before the account is removed.
One person told The Sun he received a warning in January that his Google account will be deleted on September 20 unless action is taken.
Why is Google deleting accounts?
Ruth Kricheli VP, Product Management at Google, said last year: ‘If an account hasn’t been used for an extended period of time, it is more likely to be compromised.’
Ms Kricheli added that the change is necessary to ‘protect our users from security threats, like spam, phishing scams and account hijacking’.
Google says it needs to delete inactive accounts as they can be compromised (Picture: Jaque Silva/SOPA Images/REX/Shutterstock)
Accounts that have been forgotten or unattended are a lot more likely to have been compromised because they may have out-of-date or re-used passwords andlack a two-factor authentication set up.
‘These accounts are often vulnerable, and once an account is compromised, it can be used for anything from identity theft to a vector for unwanted or even malicious content, like spam,’ Ms Kricheli added.
How to ensure your Gmail account is not deleted
If you only have one Google account and you use it regularly, you obviously have nothing to worry about.
However, if, for example you, have more than one Google account and you use one, for example, purely for storing photos or data and you haven’t accessed it for a long while, it could be at risk.
To make sure the account is not deleted, you can do one of three simple steps.
Read or send an email in Gmail.
Share a photo or watch a YouTube video while signed into the relevant Google account.
Use Google Drive.
As long as you do one of those things at least once a year, your account should remain active.
It’s also worth doing a Google Account Security Check-Up if you have looked at the account for a while.
This ensures you have the necessary security measures in place to keep it protected.
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