Click this link to stop your GSuite account from being shut down! We're serious. //

Google finally launched a solution for people with "legacy" GSuite Google accounts. After initially threatening to shut down free GSuite accounts if users didn't start paying for the service, Google has completely backed off. Once users jump through some sign-up hoops, Google will allow their ~16-year-old accounts to continue functioning. You'll even get to keep your email address. //

The deadline to opt out of an account shutdown, which has changed several times now, is June 27, 2022. If you don't complete this opt out by June 27, you will be automatically billed for Workspace. If you don't have a card on file and don't opt out, your account will be suspended on August 1 and shut down.

The automatic enrollment and billing, without explicit user consent, is one of the wilder parts of this story. If you don't closely follow the tech news scene, there's a good chance you won't know this is coming, and you will either suddenly be billed without your consent or find that your Google account has suddenly stopped working.

For a company whose key business pillar is convincing users to store vast amounts of data on its servers, playing games like this is a bizarre decision. At least it came to a reasonable conclusion.