Google Inactive Account Manager
Google's Inactive Account Manager lets you decide what happens to your Google Account if you stop using it. You can ask Google to notify trusted contacts, share specific data with them, or delete your account after a chosen period of inactivity. This guide walks through the setup, what it actually covers, and where Y.O.D.O. fits alongside it.
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The short answer
Sign in to your Google Account, open myaccount.google.com/inactive, choose an inactivity period (three, six, twelve, or eighteen months), add up to ten trusted contacts, pick which data to share with each, and optionally choose to delete the account after the inactivity is confirmed. Google notifies you by SMS and email before any action is taken.
Google watches the activity signals on your account, such as sign-ins, Android check-ins, and Gmail use. If none are seen for the period you chose, Google sends warnings to your phone and recovery email. If nobody responds, your trusted contacts receive an email with the data you allowed them to download, and your account can optionally be deleted.
Go to myaccount.google.com/inactive and click Start. Choose how long Google should wait before treating the account as inactive (three, six, twelve, or eighteen months). Add a recovery phone and email for the warnings. Add up to ten trusted contacts, and for each one tick which data they may receive, for example Gmail, Drive, Photos, YouTube, or Contacts. Choose whether the account is deleted after the trusted contacts are notified. Save the plan; you can edit it any time.
It covers data inside your Google Account: Gmail, Drive, Photos, YouTube, Contacts, Calendar, Keep, Tasks, and others. It does not cover purchases on Google Play or paid subscriptions, and it does not deliver a personal message in your voice. The trusted contact receives a download link, not a sealed letter from you.
Inactive Account Manager is a Google-only handover triggered by inactivity. Y.O.D.O. is a private communication support service for the human side: scheduled and quick check-ins while you are alive, and sealed messages released only after a Delegate has reported a passing, identity verification has completed, and a 72-hour dispute window has closed. Many people set up both: Inactive Account Manager handles Google data, Y.O.D.O. carries the words.
Google sends multiple warnings before any data is shared, including SMS to your phone and email to your recovery address. If you travel often or change phones, keep these contact details current so a false trigger does not surprise your trusted contacts. You can also pause the plan by simply signing back in.
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Side by side
A line-by-line look at what each option does, what it does not, and where they sit alongside each other.