Google Inactive Account Manager: how to set it up, and what it can't do

Google Inactive Account Manager decides what happens to your Google account if you stop using it. You set it up at myaccount.google.com, under Data & privacy, then Make a plan for your digital legacy: choose a waiting period between 3 and 18 months, add up to 10 trusted contacts and the data each may download, optionally set a Gmail autoreply, and choose whether Google should delete the account afterwards.

It takes about ten minutes, it's free, and it's one of the most useful things you can do for your family's access to photos and files. This guide walks through each step, then explains honestly what it can't do.

What does Google Inactive Account Manager do?

It's a plan that runs if your Google account goes quiet. Google watches for signs of activity, such as sign-ins, recent activity in My Activity, Gmail use and Android check-ins. If none appear for the waiting period you chose, Google first tries to reach you by text message and email. If you still don't respond, it carries out your plan:

• It emails the trusted contacts you chose, with a subject and message you wrote.
• If you allowed it, those contacts get a link to download the data you selected, such as Gmail, Photos or Drive.
• If you set one up, Gmail sends an autoreply to people who email you.
• If you chose it, Google deletes your account once the other steps are done.

Without a plan, Google's policy allows it to delete personal accounts that have been inactive for at least two years, and family must apply through Google's process for deceased users, which is reviewed case by case with no guarantee of access. Our page on what happens to your Google account when you die covers that process.

How do you set up Inactive Account Manager?

Google sometimes moves menus around, so the wording on your screen may differ slightly. The settings themselves have stayed consistent.

1. Open the digital legacy settings

   Go to myaccount.google.com and sign in. Choose Data & privacy, then scroll to Make a plan for your digital legacy. You can also go straight to myaccount.google.com/inactive. Click Start or Get started.

2. Choose your waiting period

   Pick how long your account must be inactive before the plan runs. The options run from 3 to 18 months. Shorter means family hears sooner; longer gives more room if you take a long break from Google. If you use Google every day, a shorter period is reasonable. If you sometimes go months without signing in, choose longer.

3. Confirm your phone and recovery email

   Google uses these to check on you before acting, starting roughly a month before the end of the waiting period. Use a phone number you'll keep and a recovery email that isn't the Google account itself. Google may ask you to verify both.

4. Add trusted contacts

   Add up to 10 people by email address. For each, choose whether they're simply notified, or notified and allowed to download data. You can give different people different data: photos to your children, Drive documents to your executor. Google may ask for a contact's phone number so that only they can download what you shared. Contacts aren't told when you add them.

5. Write the notification message

   You can write a subject line and a short message that your contacts receive. This is the only personal message the plan sends, so keep it practical and warm. An example is below.

6. Set an optional Gmail autoreply

   If you turn this on, Gmail replies automatically to people who email you after your account becomes inactive. You can limit it to your contacts. Keep it short and neutral, since it may reach people you barely know.

7. Decide whether to delete the account

   Finally, choose whether Google should delete your account after the plan runs. Deletion happens after contacts have been notified and had time to download. Contacts are generally given a limited window, reported as three months, to download data. If you choose deletion, anything not downloaded is gone, including YouTube videos, scheduled emails and Drive files.

8. Review and confirm

   Check the summary and confirm. Google sends occasional reminders that the plan is active. You can change or turn it off at any time from the same page.

What can't Inactive Account Manager do?

It's a good tool for what it's designed for: account data. It's worth being clear about its limits before you rely on it for anything more.

One short message, not letters

Every contact gets a notification with the message you wrote. It isn't built for a different letter to each person, a voice note for a child's birthday or a video for a partner. You could attach letters as Drive files, but they'd arrive as part of a data download, alongside years of documents.

Data downloads, not delivery

What contacts receive is a link to download an archive, with a time limit. That's ideal for photos and documents, and confusing for someone who isn't comfortable with zip files, at a time when they're grieving.

A fixed timeline

The plan runs on one clock: the waiting period you chose. There's no way to say "release this message a month later" or "send this one only when my executor confirms". There's also no pause mode; if you plan to be away from Google for a long time, you'd need to change the waiting period.

No human verifier

Nobody is asked whether something has really happened. Google contacts you, and if you don't respond, the plan runs. That's reasonable for data sharing, but it means the only safeguard is your own phone and recovery email.

Only your Google account

It covers Google services: Gmail, Photos, Drive, YouTube and so on. It does nothing for Apple, Facebook, Microsoft, your bank, or your password manager. Each has its own process. Our digital estate planning guide walks through the others.

Personal accounts only

It's built for personal Google accounts. Work and school accounts are managed by an administrator and may not offer it.

Inactive Account Manager vs a dead man's switch

They solve different problems, and many people use both. If the idea is new to you, our guide to how a dead man's switch works explains check-ins and safeguards.

A simple rule: let Google handle Google, and use a switch for the words you want each person to receive. Our guide on how to send messages after death compares all the options, including solicitors and friends, and our piece on scheduling an email after death explains why a scheduled Gmail message is a risky substitute.

Where Sealkept fits

Sealkept is a dead man's switch for the personal side that Google doesn't cover. You write letters, record voice notes or videos, or add documents, and address each message to a specific person. A letter can also tell someone which Google data you've shared with them and why. You check in weekly, monthly, quarterly or yearly; if you stop, Sealkept sends reminders, can ask one or two trusted verifiers, sends recipients a soft alert with a "they're okay" link, and waits out a grace period before each person gets a private link to only their messages. Pause mode covers trips and surgery.

It works well alongside Inactive Account Manager: your notification message can tell people a separate letter is on its way. Plans are $5 a month, $39 a year or $129 once.

Whatever else you do, take ten minutes today to set up Inactive Account Manager. It's free, it's quick, and your family will be glad it's there.