UA Google Workspace and Microsoft 365: storage changes and account cleanup

Feb. 10, 2026

Google’s recent decision to end unlimited storage for higher education is affecting colleges and universities nationwide — including the University of Alaska. Because the university now pays for the storage it uses, UA is taking steps to manage Google Workspace and Microsoft 365 storage more sustainably.

The next step in this effort is addressing inactive user accounts.

What’s happening
UA is beginning to enforce retention policies for user accounts that have been inactive, starting with those that have been inactive for four or more years. Some of these accounts date back as far as 2009.

As part of this process:

  • Google Workspace and Microsoft 365 accounts that have been inactive for four or more years will be disabled beginning March 9, 2026.
  • Disabled accounts will no longer be able to send or receive email.
  • Files owned by disabled accounts will remain accessible to others with shared access, but will become read-only. Affected files will have a Read-Only banner displayed when opened.
  • At a later date to be determined, the data associated with these accounts will be permanently deleted.

What you should do

If you use or rely on Google or Microsoft files owned by someone who may no longer be active at UA:

  • Review shared files to identify content owned by inactive accounts.
  • Any user with shared access to a file can view the document's owner by:
    • In Google Drive: On the left side menu, go to File > Details.
    • In Microsoft 365: In the file list view, notice the file’s Name, Owner, File, and Activity.
  • Create your own copy of any of these documents and store them on your drive.

Contact your ÃÛÌÒTV IT Help Desk for assistance. 

Why this matters and what’s next

Google’s shift away from unlimited educational storage makes proactive file management essential. By cleaning up older content now and maintaining healthy storage habits going forward, the UA community can stay organized, help manage growing costs, and help the university manage storage efficiently in the future. Later this month, UA will share information about mailbox and drive limits coming this spring, along with additional guidance to help users clean up their data, if needed.

For FAQs and additional cleanup tips, visit the  or contact your ÃÛÌÒTV IT Help Desk for support.