Samsung Confirms New Account Purge — 3 Ways To Save Yours From Deletion
Samsung confirms new inactive account deletion policy.
Although many, I’m inclined to say most, of the emails I receive claiming to be from a major vendor are quite patently not, with phishing cyber attackers actually being responsible, the one that dropped in my inbox on June 20 from Samsung was 100% genuine. I mean, it had all the hallmarks of a scam: the urgency of the headline, the call to action and a link for further information. But, no, this really was an official warning that my Samsung account would be deleted unless I followed the instructions. The good news is that, while Samsung’s changes to account policy take effect on July 31, 2025, no accounts will be deleted until July 31, 2027. Here’s what you need to know, and do to stop yours from going down the data deletion drainpipe.
Samsung Confirms Inactive Account Deletion Policy
This is not my first account deletion warning rodeo, and I’m going to hazard a guess it’s not yours either. Google has been emailing users since 2023, after it made changes to the inactive Google account policy that meant said accounts would be deleted if they remained unused for a period of 24 months. Now, and not before time, you might think, Samsung is playing catch-up and has also started emailing Samsung Account holders with a very similar new policy.
The June 20 email from Samsung, with a subject line of “Important changes to your Samsung account,” informed me of critical changes that are coming and could impact my account.
“Samsung is implementing an inactive Samsung account policy to protect the data of users who have not used their account for an extended period of time,” the email explained. What this means, very much like the Google account policy changes, is that if you haven’t used your Samsung account for a period of 24 months, then it will meet the criteria for deletion.
And what that means is access to your account will be restricted, all data linked to the account will be deleted, and neither will be able to be restored. The bottom line: use it or lose.
The Samsung Account Deletion Timeline — 3 Ways To Keep Yours
The good news is that this isn’t a pressing issue, despite the apparent urgency engendered by the email. Samsung has confirmed that the earliest date that any accounts will be deleted is July 31, 2027. Yes, you read that right, two years. Funny that, as it will be two years from the date the policy becomes official.
Samsung confirms new policy will start deleting inactive accounts from July 31, 2027.
The even better news is that it’s really easy to ensure your Samsung account does end up in the delete pile: just use it. But what does this mean, in reality?
Samsung has confirmed that account usage is defined in the following three ways:
- Creating a Samsung account.
- Logging in to Samsung services/products using a Samsung account.
- Using a service/product while logged in with a Samsung account.
“To prevent your account from being deleted,” Samsung said, “and to ensure proper use of Samsung Services, your account must have at least one usage/activity every twenty-four months.”