Google’s inactive account purge won’t include old YouTube videos

2 years ago 2

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Google will not delete old YouTube videos or Google accounts with content uploaded to YouTube as part of its account purging plan announced on Tuesday.

The Internet giant detailed a new policy that will see it start deleting Google accounts that had not been used or signed into for at least two years from December 2023.

Its original statement included YouTube alongside several other Google services that would have their content impacted by the policy change.

“If a Google Account has not been used or signed into for at least two years, we may delete the account and its contents — including content within Google Workspace (Gmail, Docs, Drive, Meet, Calendar), YouTube and Google Photos,” said Google vice president for product management, Ruth Kricheli.

The inclusion of YouTube immediately drew backlash from concerned online users who were worried about what would happen to the video-sharing service’s vast catalogue of old content.

As Ars Technica pointed out, the impact of the approach, as described in the original statement would mean that the first-ever video uploaded to YouTube, official YouTube accounts of former US presidents, and heaps of content from retired YouTubers and musicians would be wiped from the Internet.

Fortunately, YouTube creator liaison Rene Ritchie has subsequently confirmed the company had no plans to delete any Google accounts with YouTube videos.

Google has since updated its statement and removed YouTube from the list of services from which content might be removed. It also added a line that said it did not have plans to delete accounts with YouTube videos “at this time”.

Google has framed the policy as necessary to enhance privacy and security, stating that older accounts without 2-step verification were more vulnerable to compromise. But it could also help Google cut costs by freeing up storage capacity on its servers.

Ars Technica argued that although Google would benefit from deleting old and unused content on Google Photos and Gmail, it could continue to benefit from old videos on YouTube, which can be served with ads.