Google will delete MILLIONS of Gmail accounts soon – so, is your account at risk?

Millions of Gmail accounts will be deleted from December as Google changes its rules on inactive users.

Starting in three weeks, any Gmail account that hasn’t been used in more than two years will be deleted.

Your Google Drive, Docs, Calendar, Meet, and Google Photos accounts will also be deleted if they haven’t been active recently, along with all of their content.

Accounts at risk of deletion will be sent multiple notifications in the months before they are removed.

Google says the change is necessary to reduce the risk of criminals hacking inactive accounts and using them for spam or other malicious content.

The cull, first announced in May, will begin with accounts that were created and then never used again, such as those used to access free trials.

If you’re worried that your account is about to expire, all that’s required to keep the account active is to log in once every two years.

Google says activities like reading an email, watching a YouTube video, or using Google Search will be enough to prevent account deletion.

If you store photos on a Google Photos account, you’ll need to sign in to the service separately to avoid permanently deleting your photos.

Users who maintain an active subscription to services such as newsletters or apps through their Gmail account will not face deletion either.

Accounts with videos uploaded to YouTube will also be saved, while business or school accounts will not be affected by the change.

The changes will affect Gmail, Docs, Drive, Meet, Calendar, and Google Photos accounts that haven’t been active for more than two years

Ruth Critchley, vice president of product management, says the change is necessary to “protect our users from security threats, such as spam, phishing messages, and account hijacking.”

Forgotten or unmonitored accounts are more likely to be hacked than accounts that are actively maintained.

That’s because older accounts often rely on old or reused passwords, and are 10 times less likely to set up two-factor authentication, according to an internal analysis by Google.

“These accounts are often vulnerable, and once an account is compromised, it can be used for anything from identity theft to transmitting unwanted or even malicious content, such as spam,” Ms. Critchley adds.

Recent analysis shows that hacked Gmail accounts are being sold on the dark web for less than $60 (£49).

If you’re concerned about being locked out of your account, Google recommends that you set up a recovery email to ensure access can be restored.

Users can also download and export their account data to other platforms through the Takeout feature that can create a complete account backup.

Through the Inactive Account Manager, users can also decide what happens to their inactive accounts.

These options include sending specific files to trusted contacts, deleting the entire account, or setting up an auto-reply system.

How can you protect your Gmail inbox?

Google has responded to a troubling investigation into the data privacy practices of its Gmail email client, with a series of tips for users to keep their accounts secure.

Susan Frey, director of security, trust and privacy at Google Cloud, shared a blog post in which she admitted that it’s common for third-party developers to read the contents of users’ Gmail messages if they’ve been granted the necessary permissions to do so — one of the investigation’s initial allegations.

Fry also revealed three simple tips for users who wanted to restrict the access that third-party developers have to their inbox.

Here’s how to control how much non-Google apps can see –

1. Use a security scanning tool

To access this, users must go to their account and click on the boxes in the top right corner

To access this, users need to go to their account and click on the boxes located in the top right corner.

Then click “Account” in the drop-down menu.

Click Security Scan. This allows users to see how many devices are logged into the account and if there have been any security issues detected in the past 28 days.

It also shows the user’s login and recovery method as well as the number of third-party applications that have access to the data.

If apps are no longer in use, Google has suggested they should be removed to avoid potential privacy concerns.

2. Review permissions

Gmail users should review their permissions before granting access to non-Google apps.

If an app wants to access a user’s Google Account, it will list the aspects of the service it wants to access — for example, reading, sending, deleting, and managing emails.

Users can then decide whether to allow the app to access their Gmail account.

3. View and control permissions

To access this option, users need to go to their account and click on the boxes located in the upper right corner.

Click “Account” in the drop-down menu, then “Apps that can access the account.”

This allows users to track which apps or services have permission to access user accounts. Users can remove anything they no longer trust.

It also allows users to see saved passwords and the ones that Google Smart Lock has the right to remember.

If anything looks untrustworthy or outdated, it can be removed.