Featured picks: Best Nintendo Switch deal 'The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom' (opens

Asia is emerging as the key catalyst for growth in carbon trading, though the region’s markets currently cover

Canada introduced guidelines to ban some fossil fuel subsidies, targeting those that disproportionately benefit oil and gas, solely

TL;DR: As of June 5, you can snag the Chronowatch C-Max Call Time Smartwatch in

Google will begin deleting inactive Gmail, Photos and Drive accounts from next week, the technology giant has warned. The purge is part of a major update to the platform, impacting all personal Google accounts that have been left dormant for at least two years. Millions of accounts may be at risk of being permanently deleted, with some users warning that among those affected could be parents who have set up accounts to share memories and milestones with young children. Google has already begun warning users that might be impacted, saying in a blog post earlier this year that the policy would come into effect in December 2023. “We are updating our inactivity policy for Google Accounts to two years across our products,” Ruth Kricheli, Google’s vice president of product management, wrote in a blog post in May. “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.” The move is aimed at protecting active Google users from security threats like phishing scams and account hijacking. Old accounts that have not been used for years are typically at risk from hackers as they may use the same passwords that have been compromised in other security breaches, which are easily available on the dark web. Any account at risk of deletion will receive “multiple notifications” before any action is taken, Google said, including to any associated recovery email addresses. The tech giant has already begun sending emails to those affected, telling users it is “to protect your private information and prevent any unauthorised access to your account even if you’re no longer using our services”. Losing access to a Gmail account could also potentially prevent people from using other online platforms and services that are associated with that email address, even if they are not related to Google. In order to keep an account active and avoid being deleted, Google users are advised to open or send an email, use Google Drive, download an app on the Google Play Store, or simply make a Google Search while logged in to the account. Any account that has posted a video to YouTube will also not be impacted, regardless of when it was last active. Google did not respond to a request for comment from The Independent, or offer any further information about how many accounts may be impacted. Read More WhatsApp warning over fee to keep old messages Why barcodes are about to check out forever Gmail users receive urgent warning before account purge Don’t believe your eyes: how tech is changing photography forever WhatsApp warning over fee to keep old messages

Companies are struggling to deal with the rapid rise of generative AI, with some rushing to embrace the technology while others shun it -- at least for now.

Fiscal fourth-quarter revenue at chip maker Micron falls sharply from a year earlier, Peloton stock surges after signing a five-year partnership with Lululemon, and Nike and CarMax are scheduled to report earnings Thursday.

The typically hyper-volatile Bitcoin hasn’t been so choppy of late at all. The largest digital asset hasn’t posted

A climate activist group is seeking to stop Japan’s biggest utility from using advertisements that include phrases such

The social media platform X will begin offering video and audio calling, owner Elon Musk announced on Thursday, a step towards turning the former Twitter...

T-Mobile US Inc. said it would buy airwaves from Comcast Corp. for between $1.2 billion and $3.3 billion

By Aditya Soni Meta's Threads could quickly become a major threat to Elon Musk-owned Twitter, thanks to its