Google will be deleting old Gmail accounts to ensure user security is protected.
Google will be deleting old photos and Gmail content on December 1.
The tech company announced the planned move back in May, explaining that only accounts that haven’t been active for over two years would be removed from their servers, and will include removing all of the content on Google Photos, Drive, Docs, and Gmail.
In a blog post, Google’s Vice President of Product Management Ruth Kricheli, explained that the decision was taken in order to protect user security.
She wrote: “If an account hasn’t been used for an extended period of time, it is more likely to be compromised. This is because forgotten or unattended accounts often rely on old or re-used passwords that may have been compromised, haven’t had two factor authentication set up, and receive fewer security checks by the user.
“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.”
If users want to ensure their accounts are not deleted, all they need to sign in to their Google dashboard, or Google Gmail account. The company also promises to send out warning messages to the email addresses that are due to be removed.
Google to delete old Photos and Gmail content next week
