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It’s 10 at night. Do you know where your files are?
Google announced on Wednesday a new storage policy governing user accounts, and while most of the resulting headlines focused on a new price for Google Photos, one major change was largely overlooked. In particular, in the future, Google says that if you don’t check your Google Drive files from time to time, you can delete them.
Google frames this change as a way to sort out abandoned digital debris, perhaps remnants of long-forgotten accounts. Which, perhaps, for sure. Or, alternatively, it may be that a Google user has simply stored some valuable files for a while, like they would physical documents in a fireproof safe, and just hasn’t seen them in a few years.
“We are introducing new policies for consumer accounts that are inactive or exceed their storage limit in Gmail, Drive (including Google Docs, Sheets, Slides, Drawings, Forms and Jamboard files) or Photos to better align with common practices in the industry, “Google explains in a blog post announcing the change. “If you are inactive on one or more of these services for two years (24 months), Google may remove content from the products on which you are inactive.”
In other words, Google currently has no plans to start removing your stuff, whether you want it to or not. However, it informs you that, as of June 1, 2021, time is ticking.
Google goes into more detail on its support page, but it remains frustratingly vague on whether or not it will actually delete your valuable files. Fortunately, there is a way confirmed by Google to avoid the possibility.
“The easiest way to keep your data active is to periodically visit Gmail, Google Photos, and Google Drive (or collaborative content creation apps like Google Docs, Sheets, Slides, Drawings, Forms, Jamboard, and Sites) on the web or through a official Google app “, explains the support page. “Make sure you are logged in and connected to the Internet.”
Notice the key phrase “via an official Google app”. That’s Google’s way of letting you know that a third-party email app, for example, isn’t enough.
But don’t stress too much. Google claims it will try to warn users “via email and notifications” before throwing their documents away. It will, explains Google’s support page, “at least three months” before two years.
Interestingly, the ability to remove content from user accounts after a predetermined period of time is actually a Google feature. It’s called the Inactive Account Manager, and it allows users to instruct Google to delete their data after a set period of time. This makes sense if you don’t want Google to retain your data long after your death, but turn on that feature which is used to demonstrate specific intent on the part of a user.
Now, with Wednesday’s update, Google has made it clear that it is no longer interested in being your storage locker forever. So be sure to check your files every now and then in the future, or Google could take care of that growing pile for you.
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