Google Inactive Account Manager: make a clear plan for your data
Review Google Inactive Account Manager settings, explain the plan to your contact and create a free printable review note. Includes official setup guidance.
Last reviewed . Rules change — check with the provider before you rely on this guide.
What Google Inactive Account Manager does #
It lets you arrange notifications or selected data sharing after a period of account inactivity. It is not immediate emergency access. You make the choices in Google’s Inactive Account Manager, not in the worksheet on this page.
Make a Google plan review note
This note helps you prepare and review your choices. It does not connect to Google, activate Inactive Account Manager or verify your settings. Make changes only in your own Google Account.
Use locations and contact roles rather than passwords, recovery keys, full account numbers or identity numbers.
See a fictional example
Fictional example: “I need to review which photo data I selected and confirm my contact’s current number. Our shared note will point to Google’s official instructions, not include my password.”
0 prompts have an entry. Blank prompts become writing space in your copy; this is not a readiness score.
Printing opens your browser’s dialog. Choose “Save as PDF” or a printer; canceling the dialog does not save a copy.
Your entries stay in this page’s memory. They are not sent to WiseTomorrow. Reloading or navigating away can clear them. Save a draft before leaving; this tool does not automatically store your entries.
A downloaded draft is an unencrypted file on your device. Keep it in protected storage. It includes entries in sections you have chosen not to print.
Save an editable draft whenever you want to keep your work.
Make a Google plan review note
Prepared / reviewed: ____________________
Prepare your choices
What do you want this plan to help with?
What do you want this plan to help with?: ________________________________________________
Who will you discuss the plan with?
Who will you discuss the plan with?: ________________________________________________
What should remain private?
What should remain private?: ________________________________________________
Record what you checked yourself
Settings checked and date
Settings checked and date: ________________________________________________
Unanswered questions for Google’s help pages
Unanswered questions for Google’s help pages: ________________________________________________
What should your contact understand?
What should your contact understand?: ________________________________________________
Agree the next check
What is still unclear?
What is still unclear?: ________________________________________________
Who will check it, and when?
Who will check it, and when?: ________________________________________________
Where will the current copy live?
Where will the current copy live?: ________________________________________________
This is an organizing aid, not legal authority or permission to use another person’s accounts. Keep secrets out of this copy and share only the information each person needs.
Prepared with WiseTomorrow · wisetomorrow.com/guides/google-inactive-account-manager
Review the choices in your Google Account #
Open Google’s official setup page from the source below. Review the inactivity period, chosen contacts and data categories. Google supports up to ten recipients and different selections for different people; some information cannot be shared.
Tell your contact what to expect #
Google does not notify contacts during setup. Explain the arrangement yourself. If the plan triggers, a recipient selected for data sharing receives a download link; Google uses their phone number to verify access. Keep their details current.
Do not confuse three different processes #
Your configured inactivity plan, Google’s general inactive-account policy and a request about a deceased person’s account are separate. Google says its deceased-account process does not supply passwords. Consider the required data before requesting closure: Google cannot later fulfill a content request after closure.
Source: Google: Requests regarding a deceased user’s account
Leave a note someone can use #
The review note above is your own planning record. Write “not checked” rather than guessing which options you enabled. Keep it with your wider account inventory, tell your contact where it lives, and revisit it after changing the people or information involved. Never put login details or recovery codes in a shared note.
WiseTomorrow is a technology service for organizing and sharing information. It does not provide legal, tax, financial or estate-planning advice, does not replace a will, trust, power of attorney, beneficiary designation or advance directive, and does not verify that stored documents are valid. Consult a licensed professional for advice about your situation. Read the full legal disclaimer.
Sources and editorial notes
Prepared by WiseTomorrow, the maker of Wise Box. These resources help organize information; they are not an independent product review. No specialist review is claimed. How these resources are prepared.
- Google: About Inactive Account Manager · Source checked 2026-10-04
- Google: Requests regarding a deceased user’s account · Source checked 2026-10-04
Have a correction? Contact WiseTomorrow.