4 min readLucknowOct 21, 2021 03:50 PM IST
First published on: Oct 16, 2021 at 09:01 AM IST
Worried about what might happen to your Google account data when you pass away? Well, the software giant has a feature which lets you decide the same. If you are using all the services of Google such as Gmail, Maps, Search and Photos, then it means that the Google account has plenty of data about you and your habits.
Some might have saved bank cards details or might be using Google Photos to preserve memories with your friends and family. Some of you might also be using Google Pay and might have stored a few important documents on Google Drive. So, it is important to create a plan for your Google account data as you might want to share everything with someone who can take care of this after you pass away.
How to secure your Google data?
When you don’t use your Google account for a very long time or when the company detects no activity in your account, it then becomes inactive. However, the company lets you decide when it should consider your account to be inactive and what should happen with your data afterwards.
The search giant gives users an option to share the account and its data with someone that they trust. Or they can even ask Google to delete it if the account becomes inactive. The search giant says “we will only trigger the plan that you set up if you haven’t used your Google Account for some time. Tell us how long we should wait before we do so.”
The good thing is Google also allows users to set additional waiting time period for the account to be considered inactive. You can choose up to a maximum of 18 months. Users can simply visit the myaccount.google.com/inactive site and makes changes.
#You will first be required to enter the waiting time period for inactivity, email id, phone number and other details.
#After that, Google will give you the option to choose up to 10 people whom you want to notify when your Google Account becomes inactive and that you are no longer using this account. You can also give them access to some of your data and an option to download it. You will be asked to enter the email id of your trusted contacts.
Note: Those who use Gmail will also be able to set up an AutoReply that will be sent after your account becomes inactive.
#If you don’t want anyone to get access your Google account data, then you don’t need to add the email ids of anyone. But, this will mean that your data will get deleted and no one will ever be able to restore it after your is inactive.
#When you add a person’s email id, Google displays a big list and asks you to choose what all data you want to share with your contact. The list includes Google Pay, Google Photos, Google Chat, location history and everything else that you have done using Google account. The company says that your trusted contact will have access for only three months after your Google Account becomes inactive.
Google says “They’ll receive an email with a subject line and content that you wrote during setup. We’ll add a footer to that email, explaining that you’ve instructed Google to send an email on your behalf after you’ve stopped using your account.”
#If you choose to delete your Google Account, then the search giant will delete all your data, including your publicly shared data like YouTube videos, and other content. Those who choose to share data with their trusted contacts, the email will contain a list of the data you have chosen to share.
Google lets you decide what will happen to your data after you die (Photo credit: Ankita Garg/ Express image) 
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