Your Google account is likely the most important digital account you own. It holds years of email conversations, thousands of photos and videos, important documents, your calendar, your contacts, and often serves as the recovery method for dozens of other accounts.
What happens to all of that if you suddenly cannot access it?
Google has built a tool for exactly this scenario. It is called the Inactive Account Manager, and it allows you to decide in advance what happens to your Google data if your account goes inactive for an extended period.
Setting it up takes about ten minutes. Not setting it up means your family might spend months — or longer — trying to access your digital life through a frustrating bureaucratic process with no guaranteed outcome.
What Is the Inactive Account Manager?
The Inactive Account Manager is Google's built-in tool for planning what happens to your account if you stop using it. This could happen due to death, incapacitation, or any other reason you can no longer log in.
It lets you:
- Set a timeout period — choose how long your account must be inactive before Google takes action
- Designate trusted contacts — choose people who will be notified and can receive your data
- Choose what data to share — select exactly which Google services your contacts can download
- Optionally delete your account — instruct Google to delete everything after your contacts have been notified
Think of it as a digital will for your Google life.
What Google Data Is at Stake
Before diving into setup, it helps to understand just how much of your digital life lives inside Google.
Gmail
Every email you have sent and received. For many people, this spans decades and includes everything from personal correspondence to financial statements, legal documents, and medical records.
Google Photos
Your photo library — potentially tens of thousands of images and videos documenting your life, your family, and your memories. For many families, Google Photos is the primary repository of irreplaceable visual memories.
Google Drive
Documents, spreadsheets, presentations, and files you have stored in the cloud. This might include tax records, creative projects, professional work, and personal writing.
YouTube
Your uploaded videos, playlists, comments, and subscriptions. If you are a content creator, this could represent years of creative work.
Google Calendar
Your schedule and events — which, while not critical for legacy purposes, can provide important context for your family.
Other Services
Google Maps location history, Google Keep notes, Google Fit health data, Chrome bookmarks, saved passwords, and more. The full scope of data Google stores about you is extensive.
Step-by-Step Setup Guide
Here is exactly how to set up the Inactive Account Manager.
Step 1: Access the Inactive Account Manager
Go to myaccount.google.com and sign in to your Google account. Then navigate to Data & Privacy in the left sidebar. Scroll down to find Make a plan for your digital legacy and click on it. You can also go directly to myaccount.google.com/inactive in your browser.
Step 2: Start the Setup Process
Click the Start button to begin configuring your Inactive Account Manager.
Step 3: Set Your Timeout Period
Google will ask you to choose how long your account should be inactive before the plan is triggered. Your options are:
- 3 months
- 6 months
- 12 months
- 18 months
Which should you choose? For most people, the best balance is 6 months or 12 months.
Three months might be too short — a long hospital stay or extended travel could trigger it unintentionally. Eighteen months means your family would wait a year and a half before getting access.
Consider: if something happened to you today, how long should your family have to wait before Google reaches out to your designated contacts?
Step 4: Verify Your Contact Information
Google will ask you to confirm your phone number and an alternate email address. These are used as a safety check — Google will attempt to contact you through these channels before declaring your account inactive.
This is an important safeguard. Before Google notifies your contacts or takes any action, it will:
- Send a text to your phone number
- Send an email to your alternate email address
- Display notifications on your phone (if signed in on mobile)
Only after failing to get a response through all channels will the plan be triggered.
Step 5: Add Trusted Contacts
This is the core of the setup. You can add up to 10 trusted contacts — people who will be notified when your account is determined to be inactive.
For each contact, you will need their:
- Name
- Email address
- Phone number (for notification purposes)
Who should you choose? Consider:
- Your spouse or partner
- An adult child
- A sibling
- A trusted friend
- Your estate executor or attorney
You can — and should — choose more than one person. If your primary contact is unavailable, having a backup ensures someone receives the notification.
Step 6: Choose What Data to Share
For each contact, you can specify exactly which Google services they will be able to download. The options include:
- Gmail
- Google Photos
- Google Drive
- YouTube
- Google Calendar
- Google Maps (location history)
- Chrome (bookmarks, history)
- Google Keep
- Google Contacts
- And more
You can customize this per contact. For example:
- Your spouse might get access to everything
- Your adult child might get access to Photos and Drive only
- A friend might get access only to a specific service
This granularity lets you protect your privacy while ensuring important data reaches the right people.
Step 7: Write a Personal Message (Optional)
Google allows you to write a message that will be sent to your contacts when the plan is triggered. This is your opportunity to:
- Explain what is happening and why they are receiving this notification
- Provide instructions for what you would like them to do with the data
- Share any relevant context (such as where to find passwords for other accounts)
- Express personal sentiments
Keep it clear and practical. Your contact will receive this message during a stressful time, so directness is kind.
Step 8: Decide About Account Deletion
The final step is choosing whether you want Google to delete your entire account after notifying your contacts.
If you choose deletion:
- Your contacts will have 3 months to download the data you have shared with them
- After 3 months, Google will permanently delete the account and all its contents
- This is irreversible
If you do not choose deletion:
- Your account will remain in its current state after your contacts are notified
- Your contacts can download data but the account itself stays intact
Which should you choose? If privacy is a priority and you have ensured your contacts can download everything important, deletion provides a clean end. If you are unsure, skip deletion — it is easier to delete later than to recover deleted data.
Step 9: Review and Confirm
Google will show you a summary of your entire plan. Review it carefully:
- Timeout period
- Contacts and their data access
- Whether deletion is enabled
Once confirmed, your plan is active. Google will remind you periodically that the plan exists, so you can update it as your circumstances change.
Important Things to Know
Google Will Try to Reach You First
Before doing anything, Google makes multiple attempts to contact you. This means your account will not be affected by a simple vacation or a period of being busy. You would need to be completely unreachable through all channels for the entire timeout period.
Your Contacts Get Data Downloads, Not Account Access
Your trusted contacts will receive the ability to download copies of your data. They do not get the ability to log into your account, send emails as you, or modify your data. They receive a download — a snapshot of your data at that point in time.
You Can Change Your Plan Anytime
Your preferences are not locked in. You can:
- Add or remove contacts
- Change what data each contact can access
- Adjust the timeout period
- Turn the entire plan on or off
It is a good idea to review your settings annually, especially after major life changes like marriage, divorce, or the death of a designated contact.
This Is Not a Substitute for a Password Manager
The Inactive Account Manager solves one specific problem: what happens to your Google data if you cannot access it. It does not solve the broader problem of account access across all platforms. For that, you need a password manager with emergency access features or a documented estate plan.
Common Questions
What if I am just traveling and not checking my account?
Google will attempt to reach you through multiple channels before triggering the plan. If you have the Google app on your phone and occasionally open it, the timer resets.
Can my contacts access my private Gmail messages?
Only if you specifically grant them access to Gmail. If you do, they will be able to download all your email. If that concerns you, exclude Gmail from their access permissions or clean up your inbox periodically.
Does this work for Google Workspace accounts?
If your Google account is managed by an employer or school (a Workspace account), the Inactive Account Manager may not be available. Check with your organization's administrator.
What about my Google password manager data?
Saved passwords in Chrome are not included in the data that trusted contacts can download. Your passwords remain private.
Your Next Step
Setting up the Inactive Account Manager is one of the highest-impact, lowest-effort digital legacy actions you can take. It protects your most important digital data and gives your family a clear path forward.
But Google is just one part of your digital life. A complete digital legacy plan covers all your accounts — email, social media, financial, storage, and everything in between.
Organize All Your Digital Accounts
Google is just one piece of your digital legacy — plan for all of them
