Some big Google changes are being activated in the coming months and ignoring them could see accounts deleted for good. That means some face the nightmare of losing access to services such as Gmail, Google Photos and more. If you don’t want to be hit by the closure then it might be worth checking out the very latest alert from Google. The US technology giant actually began warning users back in May that accounts could be deleted later this year and, with the deadline looming, it seems it wants people to be fully aware of the dangers.

A new message, which was spotted by the team at Bleeping Computer, was pushed out last week which reminds Google users that new rules come into force in December.

“We are updating the inactivity period for a Google Account to two years across all of our products and services,” the message reads. “This change starts rolling today and will apply to any Google Account that’s been inactive, meaning it has not been signed into or used within a two-year period. An inactive account and any content in it will be eligible for deletion from December 1, 2023.”

It sounds pretty scary but there is a very easy way to stop it happening – just use your account and it will stay safe. Even if you rarely use your Gmail or Photos account, just log in, check an image or send a few messages and things won’t get deleted.

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Google also says it won’t just remove accounts without warning with those about to be affected being given multiple reminders.

Explaining more, the firm said: “If your account is considered inactive, we will send several reminder emails to both you and your recovery emails (if any have been provided) before we take any action or delete any account content. These reminder emails will go out at least 8 months before any action is taken on your account.”

Google is bringing in the new measures to help keep accounts secure and stop any unauthorised access if an account is no longer being used.

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“People want the products and services they use online to be safe and secure,” said Google’s Ruth Kricheli in a post on the firm’s blog.

“If an account hasn’t been used for an extended period of time, it is 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.”

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