How to Set Up Google Inactive Account Manager (Step by Step)

You probably have years of email, photos, and files sitting in your Google account. If you ever can't log in, the people who need those things have no way to reach them — unless you set this up.

Google's Inactive Account Manager is the best free tool any large platform offers for this problem. It takes five minutes. Do this today.

What It Actually Does

You pick a waiting period — 3 to 18 months. If Google detects no activity from you for that long, it:

1. Sends a warning to your recovery phone and email
2. If you still don't respond, gives your chosen contacts access to the Google data you selected
3. (Optional) Auto-replies to anyone who emails you after the handover

The catch: this is Google data only. Gmail, Drive, Photos, YouTube, Chrome bookmarks and saved passwords, Google Pay history, location data. Everything inside Google's walls.

Bank accounts? Domain registrars? Crypto wallets? Apple ID? Not covered. (We'll get to that.)

Step by Step

Open myaccount.google.com/inactive and follow along.

1. Start

Click Start on the landing page.

2. Pick Your Waiting Period

You'll see a dropdown: 3, 6, 12, or 18 months.

Take 3 months. Someone who checks email every day doesn't go silent for three months by accident. And if you're just traveling or taking a break, Google sends several warnings before doing anything — you'll have plenty of time to say "I'm here, don't release anything."

Waiting a full year sounds safer but isn't. Bills stack up. Domains expire. Subscriptions keep charging. Three months catches the signal without the collateral damage.

3. Add Your Phone Number

Google texts you before taking any action. This is how they know you're actually away, not just on a long hike. Enter your number, get the code, confirm.

Your recovery phone number also helps you reset your password if you forget it. Two birds, one step.

4. Add Trusted Contacts

This is the whole point. Up to 10 people. Each needs a verified email.

Click Add person, type their address, then check the boxes for what they can access:

• Gmail — your entire inbox
• Google Drive — documents, spreadsheets, everything stored there
• Google Photos — your full photo and video library
• YouTube — channel, uploads, playlists
• Google Pay — transaction records
• Chrome — bookmarks and saved passwords
• Location History — Timeline data

Most people only need Gmail, Drive, and Photos. Check those and move on.

One limitation worth knowing: all or nothing per person. You can't give your spouse Gmail but not YouTube. Everyone you add sees every category you check. If you need finer control — spouse gets banking stuff, business partner gets domain logins — that requires a separate tool.

5. Set an Auto-Reply (Optional)

Write a short message. Google sends it to anyone who emails you after your account goes inactive. Something like:

I'm no longer checking this address. If your message is urgent, please contact [name] at [email].

6. Auto-Delete? Think Twice

At the bottom, Google asks: "Should we delete your inactive account?"

If you check Yes: three months after Google notifies your contacts, your account is wiped. Gmail, Drive, Photos — permanently.

Most people should leave this unchecked. Your contacts need real time to sort through what you left them. Three months flies by when someone is also handling everything else in their life.

Check it only if you have a strong privacy reason, and only if your contacts know the clock is ticking.

7. Review and Confirm

Click Review plan. Scan the summary. If everything looks right, hit Confirm plan.

Google sends a confirmation email. Revisit the Inactive Account Manager page and you'll see a green checkmark: your plan is active.

That's it. Five minutes, done.

What Google Misses

Google's tool is excellent — for Google. But here's the reality check:

The right column is where most people's money lives. It's also where most of the real headaches come from for the person left sorting things out.

Three Ways to Cover the Rest

A — Quick and dirty. Open a text file. Write down every service in the right column that applies to you: site name, your login email. Save it where someone trusted can find it. That list alone is worth more than any fancy tool. Most people leave behind zero notes. One text file puts your person years ahead.

B — Add what to do. Next to each account, write one sentence. Not the password — the next step. "Call the number on the back of the card." "Log in and transfer the domain." "Use my recovery email to reset the password." Platforms have documented processes for this. Your person just needs to know the process exists.

C — Put it all in one vault. Use a tool built for exactly this: list everything — Google and non-Google — in one place, encrypted before it leaves your device, released only after a set quiet period. Your contacts get a link. They open it. Nothing to install.

Start With Five Minutes

Set up Google Inactive Account Manager. It's free, it's fast, and it covers the Google-shaped part of your online life.

Then tell someone you did it. A plan nobody knows about is just an idea you had once.

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Related reading:

• Apple Legacy Contact Setup — "already set up Google? Apple's tool is the iPhone equivalent — set it up next"
• What Happens to Your Digital Accounts — "Google's tool covers Google — here's what the other platforms do and what they all miss"
• Digital Asset Inventory Checklist — "Google misses your banks, domains, crypto, and subscriptions — track everything outside its reach"

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In Case handles the right column — banking, crypto, domains, Apple ID, subscriptions, and everything else Google doesn't reach. AES-256-GCM encryption runs in your browser before upload. Your contacts access what you chose for them through a link. You set the waiting period. If we shut down, you export everything and walk away. Open source, bootstrapped, independent.