Google to start deleting millions of inactive Gmail accounts in December

Nov. 11 (UPI) -- Gmail users who don't regularly use their accounts risk losing them in December when Google begins deleting accounts that have remained inactive for at least two years.

The purge of inactive accounts also includes Google Photo libraries, Google Calendar appointments and Google Docs archives. Google Vice President of Product Management Ruth Kricheli said the company is deleting accounts to reduce any vulnerabilities it has to bad actors. The policy only applies to personal accounts.

She said forgotten or unattended accounts often use 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 users. Compromised accounts can be used for anything from identity theft to malicious content, she wrote in a blog post announcing the change earlier this year.

"The simplest way to keep a Google Account active is to sign-in at least once every 2 years. If you have signed into your Google Account or any of our services recently, your account is considered active and will not be deleted," she said.

Already users must sign into Google Photos every two years to be considered active to protect images from being deleted.

To keep an account active, Kricheli suggested users take the following steps:

• Read or send an email
• Use Google Drive
• Watch a YouTube video
• Download an app on the Google Play Store
• Use Google Search
• Use Sign in with Google to sign in to a third-party app or service