Staggering Number of Active Google Users
According to the latest statistics, there are a staggering 1.8 billion active users of Gmail and an estimated 2 billion active users of Google Photos.
Google’s Warning: Content Purge for Inactive Accounts
Google has recently issued a warning that starting in December, inactive accounts will be purged on security grounds. But what exactly does Google consider as an inactive account, and how can you prevent your emails, photos, and other content from being deleted?
Crucial Information About Gmail And Photos Content Deletion
Despite the vast number of users of Google services like Gmail and Google Photos, only a minuscule percentage may actually read Google’s safety and security blogs. I, for one, do so as part of my job, and even then, I sometimes overlook crucial updates. This happened with a policy update regarding inactive accounts in May when I took time off for health reasons. However, this seemingly unassuming update contains a crucial warning for Google users about the removal of content across different services. Even emails sent by Google about the upcoming account purge were overlooked, not just by me, but presumably by others as well. Hence, the importance of this reminder.
In the concise policy update, Ruth Kricheli, a vice president of product management at Google, cautioned that content stored within Gmail, Docs, Drive, Meet, Calendar, and Google Photos could be deleted for users of inactive personal Google accounts starting from December 2023.
Google’s policy on inactive accounts, as outlined by Kricheli, now applies to accounts that have not been used or signed into “for at least two years” across all Google products.
