Google will permanently delete your account after 2 years of inactivity. Here’s the free 5-minute fix that protects everything.

May 22, 2026

By Kim Komando

Here’s a question most people have never thought about. What happens to your Google account if something happens to you?

Not the cheeriest topic. But it matters more than you might realize.

In 2023, Google updated its Inactive Account Policy. Any account left untouched for two years can be permanently deleted. Gmail. Google Drive. Google Photos. YouTube history. Every file, every email, every photo you’ve ever saved. Gone. Not archived. Not recoverable. Permanently deleted.

Google estimates there are hundreds of millions of inactive accounts. The deletion clock has started on many of them. Maybe yours.

📅 Why this hits harder than you think

Most people use their main Google account every day. But what about the second account you set up years ago? The Gmail you created for a parent who never fully learned to use it? The old Google Drive folder full of your kids’ earliest photos?

If nobody logs in for two years, Google treats those accounts as abandoned. Abandoned means deleted.

Here’s the harder scenario. What if something happens to you? Without a legacy contact set up, your family cannot access your Gmail, Drive or Google Photos after you’re gone. Not your spouse. Not your kids. Not your attorney. The account locks, then eventually deletes itself.

Five minutes beats a permanent loss.

🔑 Fix this right now

I checked all of these steps. Depending on your device and operating system, yours might look slightly different. Poke around, you’ll find it.

Google: Go to myaccount.google.com. Click Data and Privacy. Scroll to the bottom and click Make a plan for your digital legacy. This opens Google’s Inactive Account Manager. Set your notification window and designate up to 10 trusted contacts who can access specific parts of your data if your account goes dark.

Apple: Go to Settings > Your Name > Sign-In and Security > Legacy Contact.

Microsoft: Sign in to OneDrive. Go to Settings > Digital legacy. Enter your trusted contact’s email and select Invite.

Extra credit: Go to takeout.google.com and download a full backup of every email, photo, document and contact you have. Processing takes about 24 hours. Worth every minute.

Your digital life took years to build. A five-minute setup protects all of it. Do it today.