caitNov 27, 2023
Dare Obasanjo

The day is almost here. Google will start deleting inactive Gmail and Google Photos accounts that haven’t been accessed within 2 years this week (December 1st).

This is a final reminder that if you have a Gmail or Google Photos account that you haven’t used in a while, log in to ensure it doesn’t get deleted.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/jaymcgregor/2023/11/23/google-will-mass-delete-old-gmail-and-photos-content-next-week/

Google Will Mass Delete Old Gmail And Photos Content Next Week

Google will start mass deleting inactive Photos and Gmail accounts on December 1st.

Forbes
Nov 26, 2023 at 11:25pmWeb
Show threadThe Boys in the LabNov 27, 2023
@carnage4life I know some folks who setup accounts for their kid and have been emailing them photos, memories, etc through pregnancy, birth, childhood, etc and are going to give them access when they are a teenager. Obviously this is an edge case but I thought it was clever. Feels like something that could be lost if you're not connected enough. Can't assume anything is forever no matter the marketing copy.
Show threadJoelsefNov 27, 2023
@theboysinthelab @carnage4life didn’t Google use that idea in an actual ad…for Gmail? They did. They really did.
Show threadMichael LabowiczNov 27, 2023
@theboysinthelab @carnage4life good reminder to check my kid accounts!
Show threadJohannes  Nov 27, 2023
@carnage4life @securingdev it’s also a reminder that you don’t own the free things you just got used to over time. If you don’t put eyeballs on googles ads, you don’t have a right to their free email ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Show threadFlorencio CanoNov 27, 2023
@carnage4life does anyone know if deleted accounts will be available for reuse? If that's the case, that will be a security risk as many email addresses are used for recovering or resetting passwords.
Show threadblackcoatNov 27, 2023
@carnage4life This can't be to save on a storage bill, so I wonder if this is because ToS has changed to allow for various uses of your data, and if you haven't logged in you haven't agreed to it.
Show threadWesley MNov 27, 2023
@carnage4life I wonder how many accounts will get deleted. :)
Show threadMolly BNov 27, 2023
@carnage4life I’ve been trying to log in to one that’s forwarded to my main Gmail account, but can’t recover it bc the only recovery I set up for it is a phone number I no longer have access to. There’s nothing important going to it, but I’ll be sad to see it go. I’ve had it since… 2005, I think.
Show threadocdtrekkieNov 27, 2023
@mjibrower @carnage4life My forward-to account didn't generate any alerts it was at risk of deletion even though I hadn't touched it in years. Did you get notified yours was? I did just log into it just in case, but I imagine since Google has a hilariously incompetent inability to change your email address, these forward accounts are a somewhat common use case.
Show threadMolly BNov 27, 2023
@ocdtrekkie @carnage4life Y’know, I don’t think I did! But I just searched my main account & found that the last time I recovered the forwarded account was 2019, and I still have the computer I was using then—I bet it’s stored in a browser.
Show threadArsegaardNov 27, 2023
@carnage4life @raumdeuter Perfect!