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A Google Account Purge Is Coming. Will You Be Affected?

In an email and blog post titled, “Updating our inactive account policies,” Google has warned users of the upcoming deletion of inactive accounts.

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a google account purge is coming will you be affected

Google has revealed plans to delete any dormant accounts that haven’t been used over the past two years, starting on December 1st. All messages, photos, and other data will also be wiped during the upcoming purge.

Google’s vice president of product management, Ruth Kricheli, wrote in a blog post that the company is updating its inactivity policy for Google (and Google Workspace) accounts that have not been used or signed into for at least two years, explaining that all content contained in Gmail, Docs, Drive, Meet, Calendar, and Google Photos will also be axed — though business and school accounts will be unaffected.

“This is because forgotten or unattended accounts often rely on old or re-used passwords that may have been compromised, haven’t had two-factor authentication set up, and receive fewer security checks by the user,” Kricheli says in the blog post. “Our internal analysis shows abandoned accounts are at least 10x less likely than active accounts to have 2-step verification set up. These accounts are often vulnerable, and once an account is compromised, it can be used for anything from identity theft to a vector for unwanted or even malicious content, like spam”.

Also Read: You Can Now Delete Threads And Keep Your Instagram Account

There are now 1.8 billion active Google account users worldwide, so the upcoming purge could lead to millions of deleted Gmail addresses. Unfortunately, if you expect to find it easier to grab a catchy new address, think again. The company will not release purged Gmail handles back into circulation due to fears they could be used to impersonate their old owners.

Should you be worried about Google’s December 1st plans? You’ll be completely fine if you’ve logged in to a Google account during the last 2 years. However, if you’re paranoid about an old account getting wiped, you should login and send yourself an email for extra peace of mind.

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Saudi Digital Payments Reach 80% As Cash Use Shrinks

Visa data shows cards and mobile wallets dominate spending, with smartphones now driving a growing share of daily transactions.

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saudi digital payments reach 80% as cash use shrinks

Digital payments now account for 80% of all transactions in Saudi Arabia, according to Visa’s latest Where Cash Hides report, another marker of how quickly the Kingdom is moving away from cash.

The share is up four percentage points from a year ago. Around 67% of consumers are now largely non-cash users, paying mainly with cards or mobile wallets. Smartphones are taking a bigger role, with mobile payments making up 16% of transactions.

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Cash is retreating in routine spending. Eating out dropped 9%. Bill payments fell 8%, as shoppers opt for faster checkouts and app-based payments.

“The data shows a steady move toward digital payments in Saudi Arabia. Such progress is possible only because banks, fintechs, merchants, and technology partners are moving together in the same direction, in line with the Kingdom’s Vision 2030,” said Ali Bailoun, Visa’s Senior Vice President and Group Country Manager for Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, and Oman.

Also Read: UAE Users Sleep Less, But More Efficiently, ŌURA Data Reveals

Despite the recent findings, it’s important to note that cash hasn’t yet disappeared. It still shows up for tips (39%), peer-to-peer transfers (28%) and rent (14%).

Visa points to security features such as tokenization, along with rewards and cashback, as factors nudging more spending onto cards and phones — a shift that tracks with Saudi Arabia’s wider Vision 2030 push to digitize commerce.

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