Google to delete all personal accounts that have been inactive for 2 years

Google on Tuesday said it will delete personal accounts and their content that haven’t been used or signed in for at least 2 years.

The company said it will purge the content in inactive accounts within Google Workspace (Gmail, Docs, Drive, Meet, Calendar), YouTube and Google Photos.

While the policy took effect on Tuesday, it will not immediately impact users with an inactive account and the earliest the company will begin deleting accounts is December 2023.

“The policy only applies to personal Google Accounts, and will not affect accounts for organisations like schools or businesses,” Ruth Kricheli, VP, Product Management at Google, said in a statement.