Google to delete inactive users accounts after 2 years (here’s the fix)
November 4, 2025 by John R. Sowash
Google is making a significant change to their inactive account policy. You may have received an email about this change earlier in October.
Here’s the quick, TL;DR version:
User accounts that have zero activity for a two year period of time will be removed.
Workspace domains with zero user activity for a two year period of time will be removed.
At first glance, this might seem concerning, but after you dig into the details a bit, this update shouldn’t have a big impact, as long as you are using Google Vault correctly.
In the United States, public schools are required to comply with data retention policies set at the state and federal level. Typically, this means preserving educational records for 3, 5, or 7 years (retention periods vary by state).
Obviously, if your state has a 5 year retention requirement, Google’s new 2 year inactive window is going to cause issues!
Google Vault is the tool that manages data retention policies for your Workspace Domain. As long as you have an active retention policy in Vault, user data will NOT be removed according to the two year inactive period.
“Vault retention rules apply to inactive users. Users whose data is retained using Vault will not be considered inactive until the duration of the specified retention period has expired.” Source
If you are not using Vault, you need to be. It’s the essential tool for meeting data retention policies for criminal investigations, FOIA requests, and legal holds. Google Vault is FREE and included with all Google Workspace for Education editions.
I have conducted more than 20 comprehensive Google Workspace audits for school districts around the country. Very few of these districts have a defined process for managing inactive user accounts:
When are accounts for graduating students suspended?
Who is responsible for archiving accounts with a paid license?
Where do you store suspended accounts?
Who manages your data retention policy?
If you don’t have solid answers to these questions, this is a great time to get started! The resources, links, and videos below will help guide you through the process.
If you would appreciate some expert advice, feel free to get in touch! I offer audit and Google Workspace support packages for school districts of all sizes!
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