Starting in June, Google will delete many accounts: users can still back up data

Google is doing a sweeping blow and is facing its users with some innovation. Selected accounts will be deleted and free storage will be restricted.

Dortmund / California – According to a survey by Statista, about 97 percent of all Germans use Google as a search engine on their smartphone. The US company’s Gmail email service ranks third in Germany in the ranking of mail service providers. Now, however, Google has announced some changes – similar to WhatsApp’s new terms and conditions – that should not satisfy all users.

Google announces major changes from June 2021 – inactive accounts will be deleted

Still, the following applies: Google is one of the most popular tech companies. Only 2% of Germans do not use Google services. Therefore, the changes announced by the group for the month of June should be of interest to many users.

Google announced that it will delete several inactive accounts starting Tuesday (June 1) and will drastically reduce the storage limit for photos, videos, and other files. However, customers can still defend themselves against account deletion.

Google deletes accounts from Gmail, Google Photos, or Google Drive

Similar to WhatsApp, Google announced at the end of 2020 that it would change user terms. This will take effect on June 1, 2021. If you do not use your Google account often, you should quickly check whether you are affected by the changes.

Because, as of next Tuesday (June 1), Google reserves the right to delete inactive accounts. Specifically: “If you have been inactive in Gmail, Drive, or Google Photos for two years (24 months), we can delete content in inactive products (after appropriate advance notice).” Information from the Google Support Center Shows.

Major changes to Google from June 1, 2021: Group is taking action against full storage space

Users who used their account little or no use should not be affected by this. However, deletion may also affect users with an active account. Because the group also wants to delete files that exceed the storage capacity of the aforementioned services.

Continues: “If you exceed your storage quota for two years, we reserve the right to save your content to Gmail and Google Drive (including files in Google Docs, Google Sheets, Google Slides, Google Drawings, Google Forms and Jamboard) and delete Google Photos.” In addition, it is not possible to upload any new files to any of the aforementioned services (more Digital News At RUHR24).

Google will delete accounts from June: users can still trade

However, Google is forgiving. The company states that users who have not exhausted their storage and “properly managed accounts” will not be affected by the actions. The company also mentions two ways in which customers can save their account or data:

So customers with an inactive account or full storage should act quickly if they still want to save their files. Otherwise, there will be a brutal awakening from June 1 if too many photos, documents, or emails are suddenly lost. Although it’s unlikely that inactive users will notice it either.

Google restricts another service significantly: Free storage is limited

By the way, the reason for all the changes is the tech giant’s new storage guidelines. Because it not only provides for deleting inactive Google accounts, but also provides severe storage restrictions for Google services.

Just six years ago, Google announced: “With Google Photos, you can now save and store any number of photos and videos in HD for free.” But suddenly the company changed its mind and reduced or merged the stake.

Before June 1, users had unlimited storage for photos – at least if they weren’t saved in the original quality but with the standard “High Quality” setting. Starting next week, these photos will also count toward the 15GB storage, which every user has a free warranty on.

Google storage full? Users should anticipate deleted files and restrictions

So far, only 15 GB has been applied to Gmail and Google Drive. Anyone who has saved a lot of photos to Google can suddenly run into trouble as of June 1st and face full storage space. Google will not immediately delete all files that exceed the limit, but restrictions will still apply.

E-mail messages can no longer be received and sent, or new files downloaded. Several users will then have to decide: either delete them, change providers, or pay for an increased storage capacity. With Google One, the group naturally has a favorable offer ready for their customers – but it can also be paid for.

Google’s New Storage Guidelines: The Tech Giant Wallpaper

Why is Google restricting storage capacities this way from now on? In general, it appears that the American company is doing the “cleaning”. Google Play Music was shut down in February – to the annoyance of many customers. To make changes to storage guidelines, Google will contact you in accordance with Sud-Deutsche Zeitung Two reasons:

On the one hand, the amount of data in Gmail, Google Photos and Drive is increasing by 4.3 million GB daily – this is also pushing the group to its limits. Since Google not only stores the amount of data from its users, it also leases storage space to other companies, indexes hundreds of billions of websites to its search engine and wants to keep enough storage space available for YouTube. On the other hand, Google wants to sell as many subscriptions as possible to the new Google One service. So it’s all about the money.

Title list image: © DENIS CHARLET / AFP