Inactive account deletion: Difference between revisions

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==Examples==

*[[AOL]] claims that they deletes inactive accounts when they're not signed in for 24 months.<ref>https://help.aol.com/articles/reasons-aol-deactivates-or-deletes-an-account</ref>

*[[Discord]] has a deletion policy on inactive accounts in which accounts that are not used for 2 years or more may be scheduled to be deleted. Before the deletion of the inactive account, users may get an email or text message warning that their account is scheduled to be deleted.<ref>{{cite web |title=Inactive Account Deletion |author=Librarian |date=14 Jun 2023 |website=[[Discord]] Support |url=https://support.discord.com/hc/en-us/articles/5106714856215-Inactive-Account-Deletion |url-status=live |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20260210025748/https://support.discord.com/hc/en-us/articles/5106714856215-Inactive-Account-Deletion |archive-date=2026-02-10}}</ref>

*[[Google]] has deleted inactive accounts, often citing 'privacy reasons' as a reason for doing it.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Barker |first=Shane |title=Google's Inactive Account Deletion policy: What You Need To Know |url=https://expertbeacon.com/googles-inactive-account-deletion-policy-what-you-need-to-know/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20260405154945/https://expertbeacon.com/googles-inactive-account-deletion-policy-what-you-need-to-know/ |archive-date=5 Apr 2026 |access-date=29 Oct 2025 |website=Expert beacon}}</ref> The rationale has been ridiculed with some comparing it to a hypothetical scenario where a bank should be burned down if it is not secure against robbers.<ref>{{cite web |first=Jordan |last=Novet |title=Google’s plan to purge inactive accounts isn’t sitting well with some users |website=CNBC |url=https://www.cnbc.com/2023/08/19/google-faces-criticism-of-plan-to-purge-inactive-accounts.html |url-status=live |date=19 Aug 2023 |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20250831223936/https://www.cnbc.com/2023/08/19/google-faces-criticism-of-plan-to-purge-inactive-accounts.html |archive-date=2025-08-31}}</ref>

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*[[X Corp|X]], formerly known as Twitter, had in 2023 announced its intentions to delete inactive accounts, although following public backlash it had retracted the decision, saying that inactive accounts would be archived instead while their handles would be freed. Despite the retraction, there are at least one anecdotal reports which alleged X had deleted suspended accounts that are not logged in for a long time.<ref>{{cite web |title=Twitter to remove idle accounts, archive them

|first=Akash |last=Sriram |first2=Shinjini |last2=Ganguli |date=9 May 2023 |url=https://www.reuters.com/technology/twitter-remove-inactive-accounts-2023-05-08/ |url-status=live |website=Reuters |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20250526024527/https://www.reuters.com/technology/twitter-remove-inactive-accounts-2023-05-08/ |archive-date=2025-05-26}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |first=Tom |last=Gerken |title=Twitter plans to remove and archive inactive accounts |date=9 May 2023 |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-65533014 |website=BBC |url-status=live |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20250621004808/https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-65533014 |archive-date=2025-06-21}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |first=Grantham-Philips |last=Wyatte |title=Twitter is purging inactive accounts including people who have died, angering those still grieving |url=https://www.pbs.org/newshour/economy/twitter-is-purging-inactive-accounts-including-people-who-have-died-angering-those-still-grieving |url-status=live |date=17 May 2023 |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20260125105022/https://www.pbs.org/newshour/economy/twitter-is-purging-inactive-accounts-including-people-who-have-died-angering-those-still-grieving |archive-date=2026-01-25}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |author=cyberanakinvader |website=[[Reddit]] |date=8 Jun 2024 |title=Twitter is silently deleting some suspended accounts which has not been logged in for some time. |url=https://old.reddit.com/r/DataHoarder/comments/1db1sru/twitter_is_silently_deleting_some_suspended/ |url-status=live |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20260111213116/https://old.reddit.com/r/DataHoarder/comments/1db1sru/twitter_is_silently_deleting_some_suspended/ |archive-date=2026-01-11}}</ref>

*[[Yahoo]] claims that they deletes inactive accounts when they're not signed in for 24 months.<ref>https://help.yahoo.com/kb/reasons-yahoo-deactivates-deletes-account-sln2018.html</ref>

==Proposed solutions==

@@ Line 18: / Line 18: @@
 ==Examples==
+*[[AOL]] claims that they deletes inactive accounts when they're not signed in for 24 months.<ref>https://help.aol.com/articles/reasons-aol-deactivates-or-deletes-an-account</ref>
 *[[Discord]] has a deletion policy on inactive accounts in which accounts that are not used for 2 years or more may be scheduled to be deleted. Before the deletion of the inactive account, users may get an email or text message warning that their account is scheduled to be deleted.<ref>{{cite web |title=Inactive Account Deletion |author=Librarian |date=14 Jun 2023 |website=[[Discord]] Support |url=https://support.discord.com/hc/en-us/articles/5106714856215-Inactive-Account-Deletion |url-status=live |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20260210025748/https://support.discord.com/hc/en-us/articles/5106714856215-Inactive-Account-Deletion |archive-date=2026-02-10}}</ref>
 *[[Google]] has deleted inactive accounts, often citing 'privacy reasons' as a reason for doing it.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Barker |first=Shane |title=Google's Inactive Account Deletion policy: What You Need To Know |url=https://expertbeacon.com/googles-inactive-account-deletion-policy-what-you-need-to-know/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20260405154945/https://expertbeacon.com/googles-inactive-account-deletion-policy-what-you-need-to-know/ |archive-date=5 Apr 2026 |access-date=29 Oct 2025 |website=Expert beacon}}</ref> The rationale has been ridiculed with some comparing it to a hypothetical scenario where a bank should be burned down if it is not secure against robbers.<ref>{{cite web |first=Jordan |last=Novet |title=Google’s plan to purge inactive accounts isn’t sitting well with some users |website=CNBC |url=https://www.cnbc.com/2023/08/19/google-faces-criticism-of-plan-to-purge-inactive-accounts.html |url-status=live |date=19 Aug 2023 |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20250831223936/https://www.cnbc.com/2023/08/19/google-faces-criticism-of-plan-to-purge-inactive-accounts.html |archive-date=2025-08-31}}</ref>
@@ Line 27: / Line 28: @@
 *[[X Corp|X]], formerly known as Twitter, had in 2023 announced its intentions to delete inactive accounts, although following public backlash it had retracted the decision, saying that inactive accounts would be archived instead while their handles would be freed. Despite the retraction, there are at least one anecdotal reports which alleged X had deleted suspended accounts that are not logged in for a long time.<ref>{{cite web |title=Twitter to remove idle accounts, archive them
   |first=Akash |last=Sriram |first2=Shinjini |last2=Ganguli |date=9 May 2023 |url=https://www.reuters.com/technology/twitter-remove-inactive-accounts-2023-05-08/ |url-status=live |website=Reuters |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20250526024527/https://www.reuters.com/technology/twitter-remove-inactive-accounts-2023-05-08/ |archive-date=2025-05-26}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |first=Tom |last=Gerken |title=Twitter plans to remove and archive inactive accounts |date=9 May 2023 |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-65533014 |website=BBC |url-status=live |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20250621004808/https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-65533014 |archive-date=2025-06-21}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |first=Grantham-Philips |last=Wyatte |title=Twitter is purging inactive accounts including people who have died, angering those still grieving |url=https://www.pbs.org/newshour/economy/twitter-is-purging-inactive-accounts-including-people-who-have-died-angering-those-still-grieving |url-status=live |date=17 May 2023 |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20260125105022/https://www.pbs.org/newshour/economy/twitter-is-purging-inactive-accounts-including-people-who-have-died-angering-those-still-grieving |archive-date=2026-01-25}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |author=cyberanakinvader |website=[[Reddit]] |date=8 Jun 2024 |title=Twitter is silently deleting some suspended accounts which has not been logged in for some time. |url=https://old.reddit.com/r/DataHoarder/comments/1db1sru/twitter_is_silently_deleting_some_suspended/ |url-status=live |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20260111213116/https://old.reddit.com/r/DataHoarder/comments/1db1sru/twitter_is_silently_deleting_some_suspended/ |archive-date=2026-01-11}}</ref>
+*[[Yahoo]] claims that they deletes inactive accounts when they're not signed in for 24 months.<ref>https://help.yahoo.com/kb/reasons-yahoo-deactivates-deletes-account-sln2018.html</ref>
 ==Proposed solutions==