Will I Lose My Email Account If I Don't Use It For A While?

Date First Published: 13th March 2023

Topic: Computer Networking

Topic: Network Services

Article Type: Computer Questions & Answers

Difficulty Level: 3/10

Learn about whether you will lose your email account if you don't use it for a while in this article.

If you have a free email account, it is likely that you will lose it if you don't use it for a while. Unused email accounts are often closed if they remain inactive for an extended period of time and most free email providers set an expiration date for inactive accounts. It usually ranges from 3 months to 2 years, depending on the email provider. If you don't log into your account for a certain period of time, your account might automatically be deactivated. You will be notified by email that your account has been deactivated and if you still don't log into your account a few weeks after that, it will be deleted.

Not checking your email for a week, like whilst you are on holiday will not cause your account to get closed. However, if you haven't logged into your email for a few months, your account could be considered inactive and deactivated. If you still don't log in, your account might be completely closed. After your account is closed, all your data is permanently deleted and cannot be recovered. You should read the terms of use for your email provider to find out how often you need to log into your free account to keep it and be sure to regularly sign in within the indicated time period.

Free email providers often keep an eye on inactive email accounts and if they have not been used for an extended period of time, they will assume that they have been abandoned and automatically deactivate and delete them. The deletion is not usually manual. It is an automated process performed by the systems.

Inactivity Periods Of Email Providers

Below are the inactivity periods of some major email providers and whether they reuse email addresses for deleted accounts.

Will I Lose A Paid Email Account If I Don't Use It For A While?

If you pay for your email account or have your email provided by your ISP, it is unlikely that you will lose your email account if you don't use it for a while. Normally, only free email accounts are closed if they haven't been used for a while.

Can An Email Account Be Recovered After It Has Been Deleted?

No, if your email account is deleted due to inactivity, you will permanently lose all your emails, folders, contacts, and other data. For data privacy, all of this data will be removed from the email servers and there is no way to recover it. Also, your email address might be made available for someone else to use for their account, depending on the email provider. If you had an email address that you liked, but your account got deleted due to inactivity, you might be able to reregister an email account with that address. This is known as recycling email addresses. Most major email providers do not recycle email addresses.

Why Are Inactive Email Accounts Deleted?

Inactive email accounts are deleted for two main reasons, including:

• Saving server storage space. Mail servers cost money for email providers to maintain and run and email providers are unlikely to continue providing free email storage to users that haven't signed into their accounts for a long time. Email providers can make room for active users by deleting unused email accounts.
• Security risks. Inactive email accounts are a security risk because they can be targeted by cybercriminals. They are often targeted because users are less likely to notice that their accounts have been compromised if they haven't signed in for a long time. If the cybercriminal can steal the user's password, they can hack into their account without any further skills. Scammers can send users phishing emails to steal the login details and older secondary accounts are often the details that users enter if asked to provide a password recovery contact for a primary account, making it easier for cybercriminals to reset passwords after accessing the inactive email account.

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