Google Will Start Deleting Accounts that Have Not Been Active in 2 Years

Google made the announcement on Tuesday that the company would begin deleting accounts that have not been active in the last two years to prevent security risks.

According to CNN, although the updated security policy is in effect immediately, the company will not begin deleting accounts until December. Google will also send out multiple warning notifications to users before their account is terminated.

Google explained its reasoning for this recent decision in a blog post. “Our internal analysis shows abandoned accounts are at least 10x less likely than active accounts to have 2-step-verification set up. Meaning, 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.”

The company also mentioned it will begin with deleting accounts that were created and then never used again. If you are concerned that your account might be deleted, all you have to do is sign-in to your google account or any of Google’s services.