Google is breaking its ‘free for life’ promise to some G Suite legacy users

• Google is said to be flagging some long-time G Suite Legacy accounts for “commercial use” and pushing users toward paid Workspace plans.
• Affected users say they could lose access to Gmail, Drive, Calendar, and Meet unless they appeal or upgrade within 45 days.
• Several customers say Google’s appeal process is unclear, with some appeals allegedly rejected automatically or without explanation.

If you thought your grandfathered Google account was safe, you might want to double-check your inbox. Google is apparently pressuring long-time G Suite Legacy users to pay for business subscriptions, saying they’re using their free accounts for commercial purposes.

A growing number of G Suite Legacy customers are being told that their personal accounts have become commercial-use accounts and that they will have to pay for Google Workspace subscriptions or lose access to Gmail, Drive, Calendar, Meet, and other core services. Complaints started popping up on Google’s own support forum and Reddit (via TechRadar).