Your account is disabled - Google Account Help (original) (raw)

Find out why

1. Sign in to your Google Account on a browser, like Chrome.
2. If your account is disabled, you'll get an explanation.

What happens when your account is disabled

• You can't sign in to Google services or use Sign in with Google. When you try to sign in, you'll get an error message or be sent to this page.
• In some cases, you'll get an email or text message from Google to tell you that your account is disabled.

Ask us to restore your account

If you own the account, you can request access to it again.

1. Sign in to your Google Account on a browser, like Chrome.
2. Select Start Appeal.
3. Follow the instructions.

If your appeal isn’t approved, your entire Google Account will remain unavailable. If no further action is taken, your account will be permanently disabled and considered for deletion.

If you live in the European Union (EU) or are an EU citizen, there may be additional resolution options available to you. Learn more.

Max number of appeals reviewed for some policy violations

For some policy violations, Google will review up to 2 appeals. If the first appeal isn’t approved, you can submit a second appeal with more information, which will be re-evaluated by a Google reviewer. Any appeals after that will be closed.

If this applies to your appeal, before you submit it, you’ll see a message about the max number of appeals that Google reviews for this type of policy violation.

Download data from a disabled account

If you can’t get in to your account, you may be able to download and save account data from some Google Services.

To try downloading your data, sign in to your account as you normally do. Then, you may have the option to download your data.

Accounts may be disabled without the ability to download data for certain violations, including but not limited to:

• Valid legal requests
• Account hijacking
• Egregious content violations including child sexual abuse and exploitation and terrorist content

Why accounts are disabled

Google Accounts are usually disabled if the account's owner hasn't followed our policies. Google's policies include:

• Other policies and terms for our products and services. See examples of these policies.

Here are some common reasons why accounts are disabled. Not all Google services disable an account for these reasons.

Account hacking or hijacking

Don't sign in to or use another person's account unless you have their explicit permission.

Automatic calls or messages

Don't use Google services to make phone calls or send messages automatically (robodialing).

Robocalls are phone calls that use a computerized autodialer to send pre-recorded messages.

Breaking product policies

Child sexual abuse & exploitation

Don’t use Google services in a way that exploits or abuses children.

We act on the following kinds of content:

• Child sexual abuse materials: This includes cartoons and generative AI imagery.
• Child grooming: For example, befriending a child online to facilitate, either online or offline, sexual contact and/or exchange sexual imagery with that child.
• Sextortion: For example, the use of real or alleged access to a child’s intimate images to threaten or blackmail a child.
• Sexualization of a minor: For example, imagery that depicts, encourages or promotes the sexual abuse of children or the portrayal of children in a manner that could result in the sexual exploitation of children.
• Trafficking of a child: For example, advertising or solicitation of a child for commercial sexual exploitation.

This content includes anything that's created, shared, sent, or uploaded on Google services.

When we come across child exploitation, we'll take appropriate actions. Our actions might include reporting child exploitation to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children or law enforcement, and disabling accounts.

Note for certain of our communication services:

Within the European Union, certain of our communication services detect online child sexual abuse under the Regulation (EU) 2021/1232, which provides for a derogation from the confidentiality of communications under the Directive 2002/58/EC for the purpose of combating online child sexual abuse. Under Regulation 2021/1232, if you think your account was disabled by mistake, in addition to requesting review, you can lodge a complaint with your country’s relevant data protection authority. You also have the right to a judicial remedy before a competent court.

Creating a false identity to deceive people

Don't use Google services to create a false identity to trick people into taking action (social engineering). It's a violation to create a Gmail address that implies someone works for an unrelated company or government organization.

However, uses like making a fan email account in a celebrity’s name are fine.

Export or sanctions law violations

Don’t use Google services or your account in a way that may result in or cause a violation of applicable export or sanctions laws.

If you or your organization is a sanctioned party or acts on behalf of a sanctioned person or organization, your account and any affiliated accounts may be disabled.

Harassment, bullying, & threats

Don’t harass, bully, or threaten others. We don’t allow Google services to be used to engage or incite others in these activities.

Keep in mind that online harassment is illegal in many places and can have serious offline consequences.

We may take appropriate action if we are notified of threats of harm or other dangerous situations, which may include reporting you to the relevant authorities.

High call volumes

Don't use Google services to send a large number of calls to a telephone exchange for financial gain (traffic pumping).

Impersonation & misrepresentation of identity

Don’t impersonate a person or organization, or misrepresent yourself.

Don’t misrepresent or conceal your country of origin and create or distribute content about politics, social issues, or matters of public concern to users in a country other than your own misleadingly.

We do allow parody, satire, and the use of pseudonyms or pen names. Avoid content that is likely to mislead your audience about your true identity.

Malware, phishing & other harmful activities

Don't use Google services for:

• Malware: Sending harmful or unwanted code or software, like viruses.
• Phishing: Taking private information by stealing it or tricking people into sharing it.
• Harming or interfering with Google networks, servers, or other systems (e.g. cyberattacks).

Non-consensual explicit imagery & sextortion

Don’t threaten to expose or disseminate explicit, intimate, or embarrassing content of a sexual nature of another person without consent.

Don’t coerce (using power, influence, or pressure), encourage, or solicit financial gain or other sexual content from an individual through the threat of disseminating their explicit, intimate, or embarrassing content of a sexual nature.

Online harassment is illegal in many places and can have serious offline consequences.

Sexually explicit content

Don’t distribute sexually explicit content, including:

• Nudity
• Graphic sex acts
• Pornographic content
• Driving traffic to commercial pornography sites

We allow content for educational, documentary, scientific, or artistic purposes.

Spamming

Don't use Google services to send anyone unwanted content, called spam.

Spam can be emails, comments, photos, reviews, or any other content that's created or shared on Google services.

Here are some good general rules:

• Avoid sending unsolicited promotional or commercial content.
• Don't send content to people you don't know or to many people at the same time.

Terrorist content

Don’t use Google services to share content intended to:

• Recruit for terrorist organizations
• Incite violence
• Glorify terrorist attacks
• Promote acts of terrorism

Unqualified educational institution

• Don’t impersonate an educational institution when creating a Google Workspace for Education account.
• Don’t misrepresent your qualifications when applying for a Google Workspace for Education account. Learn about qualifications.

Use of multiple accounts for abuse

• Don't create or use multiple accounts to break Google's policies.
• Don't use programs (called bots) to create fake accounts.

Google automatically detects and disables accounts made for abuse.

Many people have more than one Google Account, like a personal account and a work account. Uses like that are fine.

Valid legal requests

Upon request, we’ll sometimes take action under applicable laws or in response to a court order. Submit legal requests here.