Either you use it or you lose it: Google warns that it will delete inactive accounts

() — If you haven’t signed in to your Google Account in a while, it’s time to do so or you risk losing it.

Google announced Tuesday that it will begin deleting accounts that have been inactive for at least two years, in an effort that the company says seeks to prevent security risks.

The updated policy takes effect immediately, but Google said it will only start deleting accounts until December. The company plans to send several warning notifications to users and carry out phased retirement of inactive accounts.

The first to be deleted will be the accounts that were created and that the user never visited, according to Google. Additionally, the policy will only affect personal accounts, leaving organizations like schools and businesses untouched.

Google explained that its decision is based on internal findings that older accounts are more likely to trust recycled passwords and less likely to employ up-to-date security measures like two-step verification, making them much more vulnerable to problems. As the hack computing and spam.

The decision to remove accounts goes a step further than a previous policy. In 2020, Google said it would remove content from users who didn’t use it from its services, but the accounts themselves wouldn’t disappear.

In order not to lose your account, all you have to do is access your Gmail account or any other Google service and read an email, watch a video, perform a search or any other activity.