Google’s decision to delete millions of inactive Gmail accounts could erase millions of photos and other irretrievable memories, users have warned. The purge, which comes into effect next month and will hit any account that has not been used for more than two years, could impact parents who have set up email addresses for young children in order to share and mark milestones with them. It could also inadvertently affect people who continue to manage the online accounts of deceased relatives. Googleannounced the policy in a blog post earlier this year, claiming that the move aims to protect active users from security threats like phishing scams and account hijacking. The mass closure will also free up significant amounts of server space, which will also save the US tech giant money and resources. Google warned that the new policy applied to personal Google accounts, which includes content within Google Photos and Google Workspace tools like Docs, Drive, Gmail, Meet and Calendar. Nicholas Worley, founder and chief executive of digital archiving platform Inalife, urged people to take action immediately in order to risk losing access to the accounts. “If you have a Google account set up for your kids and have been emailing them, or if you manage the account of a deceased loved one... Login, save or backup any important memories and stories,” he wrote on LinkedIn. Mr Worley told The Independent that he began recording memories when he learnt he was having his first child in 2019. “I have friends and now Inalife users who had set up emails for their kids and hadn’t known about the deletion issue before being told,” he said. The Independent has reached out to Google for further information about whether any impacted accounts will be retrievable once the purge has taken place, and the exact number of accounts potentially impacted. In its May blog post, Google’s vice president of product management Ruth Kricheli said that users would be able to keep their account active by reading or sending an email, using Google Drive, watching a YouTube video while logged in, downloading an app on the Google Play Store, or using Google Search. “[The] update helps us continue our advancements in account security, and helps reinforce our commitment to keep your private information private,” she wrote. “This update aligns our policy with industry standards around retention and account deletion and also limits the amount of time Google retains your unused personal information.” Google has already begun sending notifications to both the main email addresses and recovery emails of any accounts at risk of deletion. Read More Google is about to ditch passwords forever Google issues three-week warning to Gmail account holders One of the world’s most hyped tech products just launched – and made a big mistake ‘Is AI dangerous?’ UK’s most Googled questions about artificial intelligence

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SEATTLE--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 15, 2023--

By Timothy Aeppel Even a robot invasion can't beat a slowing economy. Companies in North America sharply cut

Disabled fans of “Anti-Hero” singer Taylor Swift appear to have some “Bad Blood” (sorry) with ticket sellers, as the system for access bookings for the international leg of her unbelievably popular Eras tour has been branded “abysmal” and a “shambles” by those hoping to see the singer-songwriter live. The presale for her shows at London’s Wembley Stadium and Edinburgh’s BT Murrayfield Stadium got underway on Monday, with those who pre-ordered Swift’s album Midnights receiving special codes to try and get tickets before anyone else. Liverpool’s presale launched on Tuesday, while early access to tickets for her Cardiff date in June 2024 are set to go on sale on Wednesday. Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter The UK and Ireland leg of Swift’s Eras tour sees her start June next year in Edinburgh on 7 June, before finishing up the month in Dublin during the weekend of Glastonbury Festival – shooting down rumours she was set to make an appearance at Worthy Farm. Swift will then come back to perform at Wembley again from 15-17 August, in her last dates of the tour. However, while Twitter was awash with Swifties celebrating nabbing the coveted tickets – which range anywhere from £58.65 to £194.75 at Wembley – disabled people have called out Wembley Stadium as they’ve struggled to secure access tickets: Despite offering seats to those with a “hearing impairment” (a term considered “negative” and “offensive” by deaf and hard of hearing people), Wembley Stadium requires disabled people to call a phone number in order to purchase access tickets. SignVideo, a British Sign Language (BSL) service, is available for BSL signers, but deaf and hard of hearing people who do not use BSL to communicate are expected to use the phone, which may not be accessible to them. Amid ongoing issues, Wembley Stadium shared a tweet on Tuesday and said: “Due to unprecedented demand waiting time for ‘Taylor Swift | The Eras Tour’, disabled access is longer than normal. “For those unable to wait on the phone we have a call-back system … Please note this is not a guarantee of tickets.” It's not the first time ticket sellers and venues for a Taylor Swift show have come under fire, as issues with sales for the American leg of her tour saw US fans blast Ticketmaster for its handling of demand. Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.

Season 32 of "Dancing With the Stars" has an interesting lineup.