Samsung issues important warning to users
Samsung is about to implement a new policy called “Use it or Lose it,” under which millions of accounts that have been inactive for 24 months are at risk of being permanently deleted.
Samsung – one of the biggest names in the technology industry has just announced a new policy regarding the deletion of inactive accounts, effective from July 31, 2025.
However, users still have a two-year “grace period,” until July 31, 2027, before the company begins actually implementing account deletions.
Although the timeline is set to expire in mid-2025, Samsung said it won't immediately delete any accounts. Instead, users will have two years from that point to ensure their accounts remain active.
This means that if you do not log in or use your Samsung account for 24 consecutive months from July 31, 2025, your account will be marked as “inactive” and may be permanently deleted.
Whether you’re using one of Samsung’s flagship Galaxy smartphones, a SmartThings device in your smart home ecosystem, or simply storing data on Samsung Cloud, you’ll need to perform a simple but important action of logging in at least once every two years. This will help keep your account “active” and avoid deletion under the new policy.
Samsung Account: More than a Sign-In
For many users, a Samsung account is more than just a way to log in to their phone. It’s a gateway to the company’s entire ecosystem of services, including the Galaxy Store, Samsung Health, Samsung Cloud, SmartThings, Galaxy Wearables, and Samsung Kids.
Losing your account means you lose access to all the data associated with these services, from phone backups to health data to smart home device settings.
More importantly, there is no way to recover data after an account is deleted, which is a strong move in Samsung’s strategy to protect user data and privacy, but also a wake-up call for users who haven’t logged in in a while.
What activity is considered “enough”?
Samsung defines an account as “active” if the user performs at least one of the following actions, either creating a new account or logging into an existing account or using any Samsung service or product while logged in.
A simple action like opening the Samsung Health app or logging into the Galaxy Store is enough to “refresh” your account in the system, so it is advisable to maintain the habit of logging in periodically, even if you do not use the device often.
Why does Samsung implement this policy?
In addition to the goal of streamlining the system, Samsung said this policy is part of its commitment to enhancing user privacy and data security.
Removing accounts that are no longer in use not only reduces security risks, but also allows companies to focus resources on serving their actual active users.
This isn’t an isolated move in the tech industry. Google, Apple, and many other major tech companies have adopted similar policies to prevent a backlog of abandoned, unused, and potentially compromised accounts.
Advice for users
If you own a Samsung device, the thing to do now is to check your Samsung account status, make sure you have logged in at least once in the past two years and maintain this habit in the future.
Especially if you store a lot of important data on Samsung Cloud, logging in and checking regularly becomes even more necessary.
In the digital age, user accounts are becoming central to the entire technology experience. Actively managing your accounts not only helps maintain access, but also protects you from the risk of losing important data.