Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Inactive Google Account Policy

support.google.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

31–40 of 83 posts

Re: Inactive Google Account Policy

#31

Post by Dalewyn »

srik wrote: post #19
ggm wrote: post #7

I don't work for google. I use Google, I have multiple Gmail as well as hosted by Google workspace domains. Overall I think this is reasonable. I can't see why people are upset, when the general burden to make it "live" is low. There are specific corner case problems: people who cannot login for various reasons, can't get Google humans to help, and who get mail forwarded so are limping along. And, there are a surpris…

> Google also reserves the right to delete data in a product if you are inactive in that product for at least two years. This part is unreasonable no? I sometimes don't use a product for a while, like google drive for instance, and the prospect of coming back to it and discovering that all my data has been deleted is a bit on the dreadful side. I don't want to have to keep track of which product Ive been using and ho…

If you care about having your data stored permanently, I think it is fair to say you should pay for it (eg: Google One subscription) or buy something on the Google Play Store as listed under the inactivity exceptions policy.

If you expect to get something served to you for free forever, Google has a bridge to sell you.

Re: Inactive Google Account Policy

#32

Post by distantsounds »

palijer wrote: post #20
ggm wrote: post #7

I don't work for google. I use Google, I have multiple Gmail as well as hosted by Google workspace domains. Overall I think this is reasonable. I can't see why people are upset, when the general burden to make it "live" is low. There are specific corner case problems: people who cannot login for various reasons, can't get Google humans to help, and who get mail forwarded so are limping along. And, there are a surpris…

>Don't depend on "free" for critical functions. All the cards are stacked against the users though. It's not that easy for a non-tech person to use any sort of email/photo library etc that isn't free from Google/Apple etc. Even self hosting email is impossible now. You won't be able to send emails because nothing trusts you. If Google intentionally incentivized everyone to move their entire digital lives into their p…

singing up for email isn't difficult. neither is paying for a place to store your photos. Google is just that much easier so anything require beyond that is now all of a sudden too difficult for the average user. that's on you and your own inherent laziness to take the easy way out.

Re: Inactive Google Account Policy

#33

Post by waithuh »

hackernewds wrote: post #13
believ3 wrote: post #11

> Exceptions to this policy: > Your Google Account contains a gift card with a monetary balance. So, all I need to do to keep a Google Account active indefinitely is just link an unspent $10 gift card to the account? Sweet!

Why would you do that though? You can always open new accounts for free, than "pay" $10 for one..

The whole ruse is because people store so much data with Google and dont want to bother with backing it up/cant back it up easily (i dont know, i never used G that much)

Plus, email is your everything now. Its your login, its your invoice book.

Re: Inactive Google Account Policy

#34

Post by Baeocystin »

spc476 wrote: post #26
numpad0 wrote: post #15

I think of likely reasons this happens is username exhaustion. >100 million people are born every year, it won’t take centuries for us to fill up every namespaces with dead accounts. Before that inevitably happens, there will probably be a point we all have to switch over to identification not by user selected username but random alphanumeric ID string, with display names only for search, free from uniqueness require…

I have a Gmail account [1] and I regularly get email for other people who share my name (at least three others). I find it amazing they think that's their email address (or other people think that they'll reach the right person by just @gmail.com). [1] Not my primary account but I got it to give Gmail a try when it was first opened to the public. I personally found it 'meh' but kept the account for testing purposes w…

I was very happy to get the non-numbered version of my very common name back when gmail was new and invite-only.

It has turned out to be a monkey's paw wish, though. I get medical records, legal filings, private and personal correspondence, bills, everything. Trying to contact anyone involved to let them know that I'm not the me they think I am barely works. It's both maddening, and bizarre to me that so many people don't know their own email address, for genuinely important stuff.

Re: Inactive Google Account Policy

#35

Post by 1vuio0pswjnm7 »

ggm wrote: post #7

I don't work for google. I use Google, I have multiple Gmail as well as hosted by Google workspace domains. Overall I think this is reasonable. I can't see why people are upset, when the general burden to make it "live" is low. There are specific corner case problems: people who cannot login for various reasons, can't get Google humans to help, and who get mail forwarded so are limping along. And, there are a surpris…

"Don't depend on "free" for critical functions."

Yet that is exactly what so-called "tech" companies enable, and arguably encourage, millions of people to do. They certainly do not discourage people from using their websites and apps, for any purpose, from what I have seen. That would make no sense. Imagine Google showing a warning along the lines of "Do not use Gmail for important purposes." Instead the message might be "Here is something to enhance security". These companies have conflicts of interest vis-a-vis computer users. It's like an opioids company tasked with preventing addiction. The best they can do is promote treatment of addiction. This is a poor analogy because selling drugs is regulated. Handing out free email accounts, in order to conduct commercial surveillance, is not.

Re: Inactive Google Account Policy

#36

Post by omoikane »

srik wrote: post #19
ggm wrote: post #7

I don't work for google. I use Google, I have multiple Gmail as well as hosted by Google workspace domains. Overall I think this is reasonable. I can't see why people are upset, when the general burden to make it "live" is low. There are specific corner case problems: people who cannot login for various reasons, can't get Google humans to help, and who get mail forwarded so are limping along. And, there are a surpris…

> Google also reserves the right to delete data in a product if you are inactive in that product for at least two years. This part is unreasonable no? I sometimes don't use a product for a while, like google drive for instance, and the prospect of coming back to it and discovering that all my data has been deleted is a bit on the dreadful side. I don't want to have to keep track of which product Ive been using and ho…

Are you finding the "delete data" part unreasonable, or the "two years" part? If it's the duration, I am curious what time limit you might find reasonable.

If it's the "delete data" part, I can see why a company might not serve a piece of data in perpetuity when an user appear to have abandoned it, unless we want the company to assume ownership of that data.

Re: Inactive Google Account Policy

#37

Post by ggm »

omoikane wrote: post #36
srik wrote: post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Google also reserves the right to delete data in a product if you are inactive in that product for at least two years. This part is unreasonable no? I sometimes don't use a product for a while, like google drive for instance, and the prospect of coming back to it and discovering that all my data has been deleted is a bit on the dreadful side. I don't want to have to keep track of which product Ive been using and ho…

Are you finding the "delete data" part unreasonable, or the "two years" part? If it's the duration, I am curious what time limit you might find reasonable. If it's the "delete data" part, I can see why a company might not serve a piece of data in perpetuity when an user appear to have abandoned it, unless we want the company to assume ownership of that data.

I think, it's the "can't keep all alive by using one sub product" part. If I use e.g. email, my drive should be fine. From this, it's not even clear if adding and removing content to drive via email would maintain drive for "activity"

Re: Inactive Google Account Policy

#38

Post by omoikane »

numpad0 wrote: post #15

I think of likely reasons this happens is username exhaustion. >100 million people are born every year, it won’t take centuries for us to fill up every namespaces with dead accounts. Before that inevitably happens, there will probably be a point we all have to switch over to identification not by user selected username but random alphanumeric ID string, with display names only for search, free from uniqueness require…

> I think of likely reasons this happens is username exhaustion

I think Google never recycles usernames due to security reasons:

https://support.google.com/mail/thread/48938290

https://twitter.com/Google/status/974054535974006784

Maybe you are suggesting that this policy is about to change?

Re: Inactive Google Account Policy

#39

Post by omoikane »

ggm wrote: post #37
omoikane wrote: post #36

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Are you finding the "delete data" part unreasonable, or the "two years" part? If it's the duration, I am curious what time limit you might find reasonable. If it's the "delete data" part, I can see why a company might not serve a piece of data in perpetuity when an user appear to have abandoned it, unless we want the company to assume ownership of that data.

I think, it's the "can't keep all alive by using one sub product" part. If I use e.g. email, my drive should be fine. From this, it's not even clear if adding and removing content to drive via email would maintain drive for "activity"

My reading of https://support.google.com/accounts/answer/12418290 is that any activity on the account that required login counts as activity, independent of which sub-product is being used. Although it would help if they could clarify.

Re: Inactive Google Account Policy

#40

Post by soraminazuki »

palijer wrote: post #20
ggm wrote: post #7

I don't work for google. I use Google, I have multiple Gmail as well as hosted by Google workspace domains. Overall I think this is reasonable. I can't see why people are upset, when the general burden to make it "live" is low. There are specific corner case problems: people who cannot login for various reasons, can't get Google humans to help, and who get mail forwarded so are limping along. And, there are a surpris…

>Don't depend on "free" for critical functions. All the cards are stacked against the users though. It's not that easy for a non-tech person to use any sort of email/photo library etc that isn't free from Google/Apple etc. Even self hosting email is impossible now. You won't be able to send emails because nothing trusts you. If Google intentionally incentivized everyone to move their entire digital lives into their p…

> for reasons that even Google can't explain, and there is no recourse or action they can take.

It's even worse. When it was publicized that Google wrongfully flagged multiple accounts and tipped the police for child porn, they refused to reinstate those accounts. Instead, they chose to retaliate by further defaming the account owners on the record. That was after the police cleared their names and they haven't made a single apology to this day.

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=32560361

Post reply on HN