Hundreds of thousands of Gmail accounts set to be deleted

Tech giant Google is set to scrap thousands of accounts using its email service, Gmail. Photo / Getty Images

Tech giant Google is set to scrap thousands of accounts using its email service, Gmail.

In a blog post from Google’s vice-president of product management Ruth Kricheli on Tuesday, it was confirmed accounts which have been inactive for two years or more will be in the company’s crosshairs.

“Starting later this year, if a Google Account has not been used or signed into for at least two years, we may delete the account and its contents,” said Kricheli, “including content within Google Workspace (Gmail, Docs, Drive, Meet, Calendar) and Google Photos.”

“The policy only applies to personal Google Accounts, and will not affect accounts for organisations like schools or businesses.”

The policy update is designed at improving user online security, with old, inactive accounts 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,” writes Kricheli.

“Our internal analysis shows abandoned accounts are at least 10 times less likely than active accounts to have two-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 earliest Google will begin deleting accounts is December, in a process Kricheli said would be undertaken “slowly and carefully, with plenty of notice”.

Anyone having their accounts deleted will receive multiple messages before any action is taken.