Email, Messaging, & Video Calls Email Do I Have to Log in to My Free Email Account to Keep It? by Heinz Tschabitscher Writer A former freelance contributor who has reviewed hundreds of email programs and services since 1997. our editorial process Heinz Tschabitscher Updated on January 10, 2020 Tweet Share Email Email Yahoo! Mail Gmail If you want a free web-based email account, you have to use it—or lose it. To keep an old address around and alive, it is enough to log in from time to time. But how often is "from time to time"? The interval at which you need to check your free email account to keep it from falling dormant and being automatically discontinued, canceled, or even deleted varies from service to service. Here are the log-on requirements of the most prominent: AIM and AOL Mail: 90 days (cancel manually) Bluebottle: 90 days FastMail (Grandfathered free Guest Accounts): 120 days Gmail: 9 months (cancel manually) Inbox.com: 90 days Mail.com: 12 months My Way Mail: 90 days Outlook.com: 270 days Riseup: 6 months Yahoo! Mail: 12 months (cancel manually) Yandex.Mail: 6 months Zoho Mail: 120 days Was this page helpful? Thanks for letting us know! Get the Latest Tech News Delivered Every Day Email Address Sign up There was an error. Please try again. You're in! Thanks for signing up. There was an error. Please try again. Thank you for signing up. Tell us why! Other Not enough details Hard to understand Submit