Infopackets Reader Peter K. writes:

" Dear Dennis,

I received this message from Google:

'You're receiving this message because your Google Account has not been used in at least 8 months. To keep your Google Account active, take a moment now to sign in. If your Google Account is not used within a 2-year period, Google may delete your Google Account and its activity and data.'

No worries, but the address I received this to (ex: john@example.com) is not a gmail account. It is one I have owned, and paid for, for many years but have not used for a while. At any rate, I logged in to Gmail using my john@example.com and got a response from Google, welcoming me back and saying 'Your Google Account is now active.'

My question: is Google now monitoring non-Google ISP accounts and removing them if no response is received? "

My response:

Thanks for your question.

What Google is monitoring here is not your non-Gmail mailbox - it is the Google Account identity that uses john@example.com as the login name.

Here is what likely happened:

1. At some point, john@example.com was used to create a Google Account (a Google-wide login) without creating a @gmail.com inbox. Google explicitly supports Google Accounts that use a non-Gmail email address as the username.
    
2. Google tracks whether that Google Account has been "used" (signed in or otherwise active across Google services). If it is inactive for 2 years, Google may delete the Google Account and its associated Google data and activity (ex: Drive, Photos, YouTube activity, etc) - depending on what was ever stored under that login.
    
3. When you signed in and saw "Your Google Account is now active", you effectively reset that inactivity timer for the Google Account.

What Google is NOT Doing

Google is not "monitoring" your third-party email provider (or your domain mail server) and deleting that mailbox for inactivity.

Google cannot delete your john@example.com email address or its mail data unless that mailbox itself is hosted under a Google-managed service for your domain (for example, Google Workspace) and you or your domain admin take action there.

Personal Google Account vs Organization Account

Google states that the 2-year inactive-account deletion policy applies to personal Google Accounts and does not apply to accounts "set up for you through your work, school, or other organization."

So:

1. If john@example.com is just a personal Google Account login that happens to use your custom email address, the warning is consistent with the consumer inactive-account policy.
    
2. If john@example.com is actually a Google Workspace (business/organization) account, that specific consumer policy should not be the driver (Workspace has its own admin-controlled lifecycle rules).

Practical Guidance

Treat the message as relating to the Google Account tied to that email address, not the email service itself. You can keep it active by signing in occasionally or using any Google product while signed in.

Security Check Regarding 'Activate Your Account' Emails

If you ever get a similar email again asking you to 'activate your account' or risk deletion, the safest approach is to ignore the embedded links in the email and manually go to Google's account site by typing it in your browser (for example, going to your Google Account page). This helps avoid phishing that imitates these warnings.

Another option is to look at the email headers to verify if in fact the email came from Google's servers. You can use ChatGPT to analyze mail headers to ensure that the email you're receiving is in fact legitimate.

I have also written a guide on how to read email headers - make sure you check it out here:

How to Trace, Report Spoofed/Phishing Emails (With Example)

I hope that helps.

Got a Tech Question?

Feel free to send me a message with your question. If it is particularly interesting, I may use it as inspiration for an article like this one.

About the author: Dennis Faas is the CEO and owner of Infopackets.com. Since 2001, Dennis has dedicated his entire professional career helping others with technology-related issues with his unique style of writing in the form of questions-and-answers; click here to read all 2,000+ of Dennis' articles online this site. In 2014, Dennis shifted his focus to cyber crime mitigation, including technical support fraud and in 2019, online blackmail. Dennis has received many accolades during his tenure: click here to view Dennis' credentials online DennisFaas.com; click here to see Dennis' Bachelor's Degree in Computer Science (1999); click here to read an article written about Dennis by Alan Gardyne of Associate Programs (2003). And finally, click here to view a recommendation for Dennis' services from the University of Florida (dated 2006).