Im not quite sure anymore, as long time ago there was an announcement from Google, you had to login regular or otherwise your email would be erased. Not mentioned time.

Try to find it again, but no show yet found. No clue how long you didnt logged in?

As normally I also dont log in that much.

It is not here?

on left and bottom of messages. Well it is on any page of mail item.

On 6/4/2025 at 1:56 PM, KannikaP said:

Same as Microsoft's OneDrive. All important data, documents, photos, music etc should be kept up in the Cloud, as well as locally on a separate drive.

Good advice - except there is no need to use their cloud services.  I have never let either Google of MSoft control and own my data. I back up all info to my local drive and also to an external drive - and that includes all kept emails and files and photos and vids etc etc etc.  That is the only way to ensure someone else cannot deliberately or accidentally delete all my documents and files.  If anyone seriously breaches their rules, they can and will cancel your account/s and delete all your files - legally they are not yours - they own them when you use their cloud services (in the Ts & Cs no one reads). 

33 minutes ago, TroubleandGrumpy said:

Good advice - except there is no need to use their cloud services.  I have never let either Google of MSoft control and own my data. I back up all info to my local drive and also to an external drive - and that includes all kept emails and files and photos and vids etc etc etc.  That is the only way to ensure someone else cannot deliberately or accidentally delete all my documents and files.  If anyone seriously breaches their rules, they can and will cancel your account/s and delete all your files - legally they are not yours - they own them when you use their cloud services (in the Ts & Cs no one reads). 

However using Cloud storage, your data is available to you on any device, wherever you are. I do realise the slight security risk, but I take that for the convenience.

16 minutes ago, KannikaP said:

However using Cloud storage, your data is available to you on any device, wherever you are. I do realise the slight security risk, but I take that for the convenience.

I have a Synology NAS containing all my data, it sits in my living room and I can access it from anywhere in the world with internet access.

Just now, KannikaP said:

However using Cloud storage, your data is available to you on any device, wherever you are. I do realise the slight security risk, but I take that for the convenience.

True - that is an upside.  But I can still access all my latest emails on multiple devices when out and about - and I do store some non-essential stuff on my phone.  You can sync most apps like mail across multiple devices - access does not require cloud services.  But yes I can only access sensitive documents stored as files on my laptop and HDD when I am physically at home.  I like that - if someone steals my phone or I lose it or it gets hacked - I do not want them to have the ability to access sensitive files stored in the cloud. These days people dont risk breaking into houses to get this stuff - they steal or hack people's phones because it is much easier and far less risk.

 

Perhaps the ideal compromise is to store in the cloud only those documents and files you are willing to risk losing.  But at this time, cloud services are either all on or all off - they troll through your device and keep copies of every file. When I get an email I want to keep secure it is a simple matter of clicking - likewise when getting or making a document or storing photos and vids etc etc. it is easy peasy. My default storage location is the c drive (not folders) and that is automatically backed up (software) when the external HDD is connected. If the cloud remained as it was when it started - remote access into your own storage device setup - I would be OK using it. But hardware space and network access limitations bred the cloud solution - which the providers love to use/abuse.

 

Businesses can setup their own server hardware services to use as the actual cloud infrastructure. But that is not really an option for the normal consumer user - at this time due to costs.  But if they did offer that service (for a small fee) then I would be happy for one of them to sync my devices using my storage hardware - but not their current arrangement of taking control and ownership. Technically there is no reason they cannot do it - as long as I have acceptable storage hardware - but they choose not to offer that because of business reasons.   I remember many many years ago asking a group of teens how Google made its money - they had no idea that they are the biggest company in the world and they make money by using our data and selling it packaged into whatever their customer wants (anonimised).  

 

3 minutes ago, BritManToo said:

I have a Synology NAS containing all my data, it sits in my living room and I can access it from anywhere in the world with internet access.

I have been doing the same for years - NAS - but the syncing of google and msoft apps across multiple devices is 'problematic'. 

3 minutes ago, TroubleandGrumpy said:

I have been doing the same for years - NAS - but the syncing of google and msoft apps across multiple devices is 'problematic'. 

Synology provide their own apps, all 100% reliable.

21 minutes ago, BritManToo said:

Synology provide their own apps, all 100% reliable.

Cheers - I will check that out. 

On 6/4/2025 at 1:21 PM, Hummin said:

Google drive I ment

meant

On 6/4/2025 at 4:37 PM, Hummin said:

Just having a phone which listening 24 hours a day what you do, is your biggest risk. Can even access your camera and all your files, no matter what your do. 

Yes that is true   however the phone still can't listen to my inner thoughts  just yet.

Also you can remove the SIM turn off Wifi  and keep the thing in a Faraday cage when not in use

(yes you guessed it that tin foil comes in useful yet again 👍 )

    

2 minutes ago, johng said:

Yes that is true   however the phone still can't listen to my inner thoughts  just yet.

Also you can remove the SIM turn off Wifi  and keep the thing in a Faraday cage when not in use

(yes you guessed it that tin foil comes in useful yet again 👍 )

    

Do I care? 

 

Stop taking drugs, not good for you

5 minutes ago, Hummin said:

Do I care? 

 

Stop taking drugs, not good for you

 

Obviously you don't care  you have nothing to hide right ?

which specific drugs do you think  I should stop taking ?  

can I still take the "safe and effectives"  tested on 8 mice ?

There's no such thing as the cloud.  There are just other people's computers.

I thought I saw something the other day about Google deleting inactive Gmail accounts?  

21 minutes ago, johng said:

 

Obviously you don't care  you have nothing to hide right ?

which specific drugs do you think  I should stop taking ?  

can I still take the "safe and effectives"  tested on 8 mice ?

My point was, if you afraid of a cloud storage from any "reliable" provider, you most likely have a bigger problem with the thingy you carry around 24/7

 

 

19 minutes ago, lungbing said:

There are just other people's computers.

 

Yes 100%  that's why you all should send me your deepest darkest secrets so I can keep them safe on mine..  pinky promise that I won't  capitulate to CIA,NSA,FBI,Mossad,Mi5,Mi6 etc etc  orders to reveal your secrets  while enduring "enhanced interrogation"   AKA  torture.

8 minutes ago, Hummin said:

My point was, if you afraid of a cloud storage from any "reliable" provider, you most likely have a bigger problem with the thingy you carry around 24/7

 

 

Cloud storage is all well and good  just don't go saving "important /sensitive stuff"

for Tom ,Dick and Harry to harvest  routinely  (with built in backdoors) and for the hackers

to find with their ingenious  exploits.

 

The thingy I carry around 24/7  is indeed a problem    again a Faraday cage of  ALU  foil can solve that.

If you have a phone cleaning app, they somtimes get carried away trying to clear stuff out.

On 6/4/2025 at 4:06 PM, NoshowJones said:

All my archives (important) have disappeared from my Gmail account. Anyone know how that could have happened? Anyway I can recover them?

 

This might be a long shot, but have you gone to your Google mail which should be linked to your gmail account ?

53 minutes ago, jas007 said:

I thought I saw something the other day about Google deleting inactive Gmail accounts?  

 

Yes they are only allowing X amount of storage or you can buy more, I opted to delete a lot of stuff, also ended up losing files, but not that important that I can't survive without them, but it is a nuisance.

On 6/4/2025 at 4:37 PM, Hummin said:

I doubt any of us is legitimate targets for any of those above. Unless you got something to hide.

 

Just having a phone which listening 24 hours a day what you do, is your biggest risk. Can even access your camera and all your files, no matter what your do. 

 

 

when you want privacy, just put your phone in a wire mesh box... 

I guess a solid metal box or tinfoil works also.

1 hour ago, 4MyEgo said:

 

This might be a long shot, but have you gone to your Google mail which should be linked to your gmail account ?

it's not there but thanks anyway.

Usually when I encounter tech problems like this, my first instinct is to post it on a small forum with a handful of retiree expats and the occasional tourist in Thailand, completely bypassing millions upon millions of other people that are more tech savvy. 

14 hours ago, cjinchiangrai said:

If you have a phone cleaning app, they somtimes get carried away trying to clear stuff out.

I think that could maybe be the problem, I use it every so often, so what do you do? stop using your phone cleaning app?

2 hours ago, NoshowJones said:

I think that could maybe be the problem, I use it every so often, so what do you do? stop using your phone cleaning app?

Yep, it can be done manually

Google Drive, O-365 drive, DropBox, iCloud etc is not Backup services, it is File Sync and Share Service. You need a proper backup on top of that. So many people loosing files thinking G-drive etc is a proper backup.

 

 

On 6/6/2025 at 8:39 PM, 4MyEgo said:

 

Yes they are only allowing X amount of storage or you can buy more, I opted to delete a lot of stuff, also ended up losing files, but not that important that I can't survive without them, but it is a nuisance.

That's always been the case, I think.  I'm talking about people who have  Gmail account but then never log in for years.  Those are the accounts they were talking about deleting.