This policy applies to Google Workspace for Education User Accounts and Organizations. A Google Workspace for Education organization is an unique Google Workspace for Education Account for the institution with its own admin console.
To learn how the Inactive Account Policy applies to personal @gmail.com accounts, see the Inactive Google Account policy.
In alignment with the Google Workspace for Education Terms of Service, as a Google Workspace for Education administrator, you are responsible for managing the accounts within your organization and ensuring there is a valid purpose for preserving the account data.
An inactive Google Workspace for Education Account is an account that has not been used within a 2-year period. Google Workspace for Education may delete an inactive account and its associated data if the account is inactive for at least two years, as set out in your agreement.
There are management tools and license types available to support administrators in managing their domain’s accounts and associated data.
An active Google Workspace for Education User Account
A Google Workspace for Education User Account that is in use is considered active. Activity might include actions you take when you sign in or while you’re signed in to your Google Workspace for Education Account, for example:
- Logging into your Google Workspace for Education account
- Reading or sending an email
- Opening a Doc
- Completing an Assignment
- Assigning a Practice set
- Sharing a photo
Google Workspace for Education Account activity is demonstrated by account and not by device. You can take actions on any device where you’re signed in to your Google Workspace for Education Account, for example, on your phone or tablet.
If you have more than one Google Workspace for Education organization set up on your device, you’ll want to make sure each account is used within a 2-year period.
What happens when your Google Workspace for Education organization is inactive
If every user in your organization is inactive for 2+ years, your Google Workspace for Education organization is considered inactive and Google may delete all of its content and data. Before this happens, Google sends the primary admin and end users email notifications to their Google Workspace for Education accounts to provide the opportunity to make their account active again, or export any of their data if they want.
Exceptions to this policy
A Google Workspace for Education Account is considered active even if it has not been used within a 2-year period if one or more of these applies:
- Your Google Workspace for Education Account purchased a Google subscription, for example: Gemini Education or Google Play, that is current and ongoing.
- Your Google Workspace for Education Account contains a gift card with a monetary balance.
- Your Google Workspace for Education Account currently has unique access to a digital item, for example, a book or movie purchased from Google.
- Your Google Workspace for Education Account has an active Vault retention rule applied.
How to manage inactive users in your organization
If a user within your domain is no longer actively engaged in or supporting teaching and learning, there are alternative licenses an admin can use to manage that user.
- Assign an Archived User license—This license ensures that user data is retained (based on Vault retention rules) and protected by the same industry-leading security as users with an Education Fundamentals license, but does not allow the user to sign in to their Google Account on any system, including Workspace services. Learn more on how to apply an Archived User license. Archived Users need to have a retention rule applied by the admin for the account to remain active.
- Assign a Gmail Only User license—This license allows users who don’t need access to all of the tools in Google Workspace for Education to keep access to Gmail. Gmail Only users still need to maintain activity within a 2-year period in order to keep their account active.
Tools to review licenses
Use the following tools to review the licenses within your domain a few times a year. For example, you might want to assign graduating students a Gmail Only license when the school year ends if you want them to retain email access, but they no longer need access to other Workspace services.
- The Google Workspace admin console is your primary interface for managing users licenses - you can assign licenses automatically or manually. Read more about managing licenses here.
- Use existing tools, such as automatic licensing in the Admin console, Google Cloud Directory Sync , the Enterprise License Manager API, third-party tools such as GAM or the Google Workspace for Education License Management Tool..
- Review the Google Workspace for Education Licensing Guide for more detailed information on the state of license management moving forward.