UW Google Account & Data Deletion

Last updated: June 28, 2023
Please note: UW Google is undergoing several major changes. For more details and regular updates, see UW Google Changes Project.

Overview

Access to UW Google is contingent upon an active affiliation with the University of Washington. Upon departure from the UW, a UW Google account and data associated with a UW NetID will be deleted according to the following timelines.

These deletion timelines are guidelines. Other circumstances and affiliations may alter these timelines. In the case of a legal hold or an additional affiliation that grants access to UW Google, an account may not follow these timelines. In the case of additional affiliations, the longest deletion timeline will apply.

UW Students

The personal UW NetID of a student receives default access to UW Google.  During the third week of the second consecutive quarter* in which an individual is not registered as a student, they will receive an email notification stating that computing services for their UW NetID, including their UW Google account, will expire in 14 days and subsequently be deleted.

*Please note: Summer quarter is excluded.  For example, a student who is not enrolled Spring quarter will not receive an email notification regarding expiring computing services unless they also do not enroll for Autumn quarter the following school year.

Day 0: 10th day of second consecutive quarter not enrolled, email notification is sent stating that computing services expire in 14 days
Day 14: UW Google account is suspended and no longer accessible
Day 42: UW Google account is deleted
Day 62: UW Google account is permanently deleted and no longer recoverable

UW Employees

The personal UW NetID of an individual who is a UW employee, including staff and faculty, receives default access to UW Google.*  Fourteen days after an employee’s last day at UW, the employee will receive an email notification stating that their computing services, including their UW Google account, will expire in 14 days and subsequently be deleted.

*Please note: UW Google is not HIPAA-compatible and UW Medicine workforce members and clinical students are prohibited from forwarding their UW email to UW Gmail.  For more information on this policy, please contact comply@uw.edu.

Day 0: Last day at UW**
Day 14: Email notification is sent stating that computing services expire in 14 days
Day 28: UW Google account is suspended and no longer accessible
Day 56: UW Google account is deleted
Day 76: UW Google account is permanently deleted and no longer recoverable

**Please note: UW NetIDs that have been disabled due to administrative action skip the 28-day waiting period and proceed directly to UW Google account suspension.

Affiliate UW NetIDs

Some UW NetIDs do not have default access to UW Google.  A UW employee can use the Provisioning Request Tool (PRT) to provision access to UW Google for these UW NetIDs.  A provision lasts for 365 days and must be renewed annually. If the provision is revoked or allowed to expire, the deletion process (below) begins. Additionally, when a UW employee departs the UW and a new UW employee does not provision continued access to UW Google to the provisionee, the provisionee’s UW Google account will be deleted according to the following timeline.

Day 0: Provisioner’s (employee’s) last day at UW
Day 14: Email notification is sent to provisionee stating that computing services expire in 14 days
Day 28: UW Google account is suspended and no longer accessible
Day 56: UW Google account is deleted
Day 76: UW Google account is permanently deleted and no longer recoverable

Shared UW NetIDs

Shared UW NetIDs do not have default access to UW Google.  A UW employee can use the Provisioning Request Tool (PRT) to provision access to UW Google for Shared UW NetIDs they own.  A provision lasts for 365 days and must be renewed annually.  If the provision is revoked or allowed to expire, the deletion process (below) begins.  Additionally, when a UW employee departs the UW, a new owner must take ownership of the Shared UW NetID and use the PRT to provision continued access to UW Google for the Shared UW NetID.  If they do not, the Shared UW NetID’s UW Google account will be deleted according to the following timeline.

Day 0: Shared UW NetID owner’s last day at UW
Day 14: Email notification sent to owner and administrator(s) of Shared UW NetID stating that computing services expire in 14 days
Day 28: UW Google account is suspended and no longer accessible
Day 56: UW Google account is deleted
Day 76: UW Google account is permanently deleted and no longer recoverable

Please be aware that Shared UW NetIDs will no longer be allowed to have UW Google services starting 8/29/2023. For more information about this change, please see the Google Changes Project page.

Admin UW NetIDs

Admin UW NetIDs do not have default access to UW Google. A UW employee can use the Provisioning Request Tool (PRT) to provision access to UW Google for Admin UW NetIDs they own.  A provision lasts for 365 days and must be renewed annually. If the provision is revoked or allowed to expire, the deletion process (below) begins. Additionally, when a UW employee departs the UW, their Admin UW NetID’s UW Google account will be deleted according to the following timeline.

Day 0: Admin UW NetID owner’s last day at UW
Day 14: Email notification sent to owner of Admin UW NetID stating that computing services expire in 14 days
Day 28: UW Google account is suspended and no longer accessible
Day 56: UW Google account is deleted
Day 76: UW Google account is permanently deleted and no longer recoverable

Google Shared Drives

Google Shared Drives are deleted when there is no current UW employee’s UW Google account (@uw.edu email address) in the Manager role.