Use or lose it: Google to deactivate dormant accounts as security measure

Google announced it will begin deactivating abandoned accounts this year. 

In Tuesday’s announcement, the tech giant said the decision to get rid of dormant accounts is a security measure intended to prevent leaks and hacks. 

According to the new policy, a Google account that hasn’t been logged in to the past two years will be deleted. Users have until December before the company starts deactivating accounts.

Users need only to log into their dormant accounts and browse their emails for a moment to save them from being deleted. 

Google said the policy would affect only personal accounts. The accounts of businesses or schools will be left untouched. The reason for the discrepancy? The company said personal accounts are likelier to use recycled passwords and therefore are a bigger security risk. 

The decision to delete dormant accounts comes after Twitter CEO Elon Musk announced in April that he would begin deleting dormant Twitter accounts. The decision sparked a small outrage, one that Google has not yet faced.