Google will start deleting THOUSANDS of Gmail accounts this year - here's how ... trends now

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Google has warned that numerous Gmail users will soon be wiped from the platform in an effort to tighten its security.

The tech giant announced that thousands of abandoned email accounts could be deleted from December amid hacking and scam fears.

Users who rely on compromised passwords will be among those deleted, in addition to those whose accounts have gone without regular security checks for two years.

This includes the failure to set up two-factor verification, according to Google.

In a blog post, it said: 'People want the products and services they use online to be safe and secure. Which is why we have invested in technology and tools to protect our users from security threats, like spam, phishing scams and account hijacking.

'Even with these protections, if an account hasn't been used for an extended period of time, it is more likely to be compromised. 

'This is because forgotten or unattended accounts often rely on old or re-used passwords that may have been compromised, haven't had two factor authentication set up, and receive fewer security checks by the user.'

While Google's deletion policy was announced yesterday, it will not take effect until December this year.

The mass deletion will take a 'phased approach', starting with accounts that were created and never used again. 

The decision comes just a week after Twitter similarly announced it would 'purge' accounts that had been inactive for several years.

Many users were left confused over when this would take place and if they could access data from these accounts, as Elon Musk later said it would be 'archived'.

While Musk's deletion goal is to 'free up abandoned handles', Google's primary focus is

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