# Email inactivity policies, checked 30 September 2026

File: `wave3-email-inactivity-policies.csv` (UTF-8, comma-separated, one header row, 12 data rows).
Companion to https://kluro.ai/research/inactive-email-account-deletion/. Published by Kluro, 30 September 2026.

## Purpose
A dated, per-provider record of the documented inactivity and storage rules for five free personal email services (Google, Microsoft Outlook.com, Yahoo, AOL, Apple iCloud), separating mailbox, account, product, storage and backup clocks. Each row names the provider page it came from and where on that page.

## Limits
- Documented rules only, as displayed on the checked date. Providers change these pages without notice; recheck the linked page before relying on a row.
- US-English pages and, for Apple, the US iCloud terms. Other regions' terms may differ.
- Providers mostly say they "may" delete. A threshold is the earliest documented point, not a promised deletion date.
- Wording in text fields is a paraphrase with short quoted fragments; the provider page is the authority.
- Not legal advice.

## Fields
| Field | Meaning |
|---|---|
| provider | Service name |
| scope | `mailbox`, `account`, `product`, `storage` or `backup`: what the clock applies to |
| threshold_value | Number from the provider page |
| threshold_unit | `days`, `months` or `years`, as the page states it |
| what_counts | What the page says resets or satisfies the clock |
| what_is_removed | What the page says is closed or deleted |
| warnings | Documented notices before deletion |
| extensions_or_exemptions | Conditions the page says keep the item active |
| address_reuse | `NO` (page says the address is not reissued), `NOT_TO_YOU` (page says only that you cannot reuse it), or `NOT_STATED` |
| source_id | Source identifier in the article's reference list (W3-S###) |
| source_url | Provider page |
| source_locator | Section or paragraph on that page |
| source_version | Version or revision date shown on the page, if any |
| checked_at_utc | When Kluro fetched the page (ISO 8601, UTC) |

## Null convention
`NOT_STATED`: the page(s) cited in the row were read in full on the checked date and contain no statement on that field. It does not mean no rule exists.

## Sources
Google Inactive Google Account Policy; Google "Updating our inactive account policies" (16 May 2023); Google "About Inactive Account Manager"; Google "How your Google storage works"; Microsoft account activity policy; Microsoft Services Agreement (published 30 July 2026, effective 30 September 2026); Microsoft "Close your Outlook.com account"; Yahoo SLN29338, SLN2018 and SLN3060; AOL "Empty Mailbox in AOL Mail" and "Reasons AOL deactivates or deletes an account"; Apple iCloud Terms and Conditions (US, last revised 14 September 2026). Full URLs are in the CSV.

No examples in this file are fictional; it contains no personal data.