How will the Gmail inactive account purge in October affect email senders and CRMs?
Michael Ko
Co-founder & CEO, Suped
Published 20 Jul 2025
Updated 19 Aug 2025
8 min read
The digital landscape is constantly evolving, and email providers are regularly refining their policies to enhance user experience and combat spam. One such significant change that has been a topic of much discussion is Google’s (Google is also referred to as Gmail) plan to purge inactive accounts, with the purge starting in December 2023. While the initial announcement caused some apprehension among email marketers and CRM users, understanding the nuances of this policy is key to mitigating any potential negative impacts.
Google's policy, initially announced in May 2023, states that if a Google account has not been used or signed into for at least two years, it may be deleted along with its associated data. This action is primarily aimed at improving security, as older, inactive accounts are often more susceptible to compromise. For the vast majority of email senders who maintain good list hygiene, the impact of this purge will likely be minimal. Those with less disciplined practices, however, might experience a temporary spike in hard bounces.
This move by Google is part of a broader trend among mailbox providers. Many have been implementing similar policies to keep their platforms secure and efficient, and to reduce the volume of unwanted emails. For businesses and CRMs, this change isn't a crisis, but rather a strong reinforcement of existing best practices for email list management.
The impact on email deliverability
When Google deletes an inactive account, any emails sent to that address will result in a hard bounce. A sudden increase in hard bounces can negatively impact your sender reputation, making it more challenging to reach the inbox for your active subscribers. Internet Service Providers (ISPs) and mailbox providers monitor bounce rates as a key indicator of list quality and sender behavior. High bounce rates signal to them that you might be sending to invalid or unengaged addresses, which can lead to your emails being flagged as spam or even your sending domain or IP being added to a blocklist (or blacklist).
It's a common misconception that mailbox providers convert purged inactive accounts into spam traps. While some providers do create recycled spam traps from old, abandoned addresses, Google has historically not relied on this method. They have ample data from their extensive user base and engagement metrics to assess sender reputation. Therefore, the primary risk for senders isn't hitting spam traps from these specific purged accounts, but rather the immediate hit to their bounce rate metrics.
This policy also highlights the importance of regularly managing inactive email subscribers. Neglecting to remove unengaged contacts can lead to a bloated email list that costs more to maintain without providing a corresponding return. Furthermore, continuously sending to dormant addresses can dilute your engagement metrics, making it harder to accurately assess the effectiveness of your campaigns.
The most effective way to prepare for and manage the fallout from the inactive account purge is to reinforce your list hygiene practices. This means proactively identifying and removing unengaged subscribers from your email lists. You should aim to do this long before an account reaches two years of inactivity.
Define inactivity: Establish a clear definition of what constitutes an inactive subscriber for your campaigns, typically someone who hasn't opened or clicked an email in 6-12 months.
Re-engagement campaigns: Before removing inactive subscribers, try to win them back with targeted re-engagement campaigns. Offer incentives, ask for preferences, or simply confirm if they still want to receive your emails. However, do not expect that these campaigns will prompt users to log into long-abandoned accounts.
Suppress inactive addresses: If re-engagement efforts fail, suppress or remove these addresses from your active sending lists to prevent hard bounces and protect your sender reputation. For more details, refer to our article on managing old inactive profiles.
Monitor bounces: Pay close attention to your bounce rates, especially around the purge period. Your Email Service Provider (ESP) should automatically handle hard bounces by removing those addresses from your list. Make sure this functionality is working as expected.
This event, along with the Google and Yahoo 2024 email sending changes, underscores the need for continuous vigilance in email marketing. Proactive list cleaning isn't just about avoiding penalties, it's about optimizing your resources and focusing your efforts on engaged subscribers who actually want to receive your messages.
Before the purge (poor hygiene)
Bloated lists: Maintaining large lists with many inactive addresses incurs higher costs.
High bounce rates: Sending to dormant addresses leads to increased hard bounces, harming sender reputation.
Poor engagement metrics: Low opens and clicks from inactive users skew campaign performance data.
Increased spam complaints: Some inactive users might mark old, unwanted emails as spam.
Considerations for CRMs and ESPs
Customer Relationship Management (CRM) systems and Email Service Providers (ESPs) play a crucial role in managing email lists. Most reputable ESPs already have automated processes to handle hard bounces and suppress invalid addresses. When a Gmail account is purged, your ESP will receive a hard bounce notification and should automatically remove that address from your active sending list.
The challenge for CRMs and marketers often lies in the data. If your CRM system is not tightly integrated with your ESP’s bounce management, you might find your CRM still holds email addresses that are no longer valid. This discrepancy can lead to inaccurate reporting and inefficient targeting. Regularly syncing your CRM data with your ESP's suppression lists is therefore more critical than ever.
I often explain to clients that these purges, while initially disruptive due to a potential surge in bounces, ultimately provide cleaner data. It’s an opportunity to eliminate dead weight from your lists, which improves overall deliverability and ensures you're only sending to genuinely interested recipients. This directly affects your sender reputation, which is also influenced by Google’s new spam rate threshold.
CRM strategy
Ensure your CRM is integrated with your ESP's bounce and suppression lists. Regularly clean your contact database by removing hard-bounced email addresses. Segment your audience to identify and re-engage dormant contacts before their accounts become eligible for deletion.
Long-term implications and best practices
Beyond the immediate purge, this policy reinforces the long-term need for robust email list management. Mailbox providers, including Google, are increasingly prioritizing engagement as a key deliverability factor. Sending to a list full of inactive users, even if they don't hard bounce, signals low engagement and can negatively impact your sender reputation, leading to lower inbox placement rates. If you’re seeing a sudden spike in bounce rates you can read more about it here will a sudden spike harm deliverability.
The purge serves as a timely reminder that email deliverability is a dynamic process requiring continuous attention. It’s not a one-time setup, but an ongoing commitment to sending relevant content to engaged audiences. Embrace this change as an opportunity to refine your strategies, ensuring a healthier, more responsive email program. It helps improve overall deliverability when you remove defunct addresses.
By proactively cleaning lists and focusing on engagement, email senders and CRMs can not only navigate these policy changes smoothly but also enhance their overall email marketing effectiveness.
Views from the trenches
Best practices
Actively manage your email lists, removing unengaged subscribers on a regular basis to prevent issues.
Implement a re-engagement strategy for inactive subscribers before considering their removal.
Ensure your Email Service Provider (ESP) automatically handles hard bounces and removes invalid addresses.
Focus on acquiring engaged subscribers rather than simply growing your list size.
Common pitfalls
Delaying list cleaning until a major event like an account purge occurs.
Ignoring rising bounce rates or other deliverability warnings from your ESP or Google Postmaster Tools.
Sending emails to addresses that have been inactive for more than 12 months.
Not regularly syncing suppression lists between your CRM and ESP, leading to outdated contact data.
Expert tips
Consider a phased approach to re-engagement, sending a series of emails to inactive users before final suppression.
Segment your list based on engagement levels to tailor content and re-engagement efforts.
Use email validation services to proactively identify and remove invalid or high-risk email addresses.
Focus on the quality of your list over sheer quantity, as a smaller, engaged list will perform better.
Expert view
Expert from Email Geeks says that an increase in hard bounces from accounts that are already inactive should not be a significant concern for well-managed lists.
2023-09-11 - Email Geeks
Expert view
Expert from Email Geeks says that if your email lists are cleaned regularly, long before accounts reach two years of inactivity, you should not be significantly impacted.
2023-09-11 - Email Geeks
Key takeaways
The Gmail inactive account purge, set to begin in December, is not a catastrophic event for email senders or CRMs, but rather a strong signal for proactive list hygiene. While a temporary spike in hard bounces is possible for some, reputable ESPs should manage these automatically. The real takeaway is the reinforced importance of consistent list cleaning, re-engagement efforts, and robust data synchronization between CRMs and ESPs. By embracing these best practices, senders can ensure their email programs remain healthy, engaged, and compliant with evolving mailbox provider policies.
