Silent Cloud Storage Users Beware: New 123 Policy Deletes Inactive Data

123 Cloud policy for inactive free accounts

Accounts that have not logged in for 365 days are automatically placed in a 30‑day freeze. During the freeze the data is moved to cold‑storage. If the user does not log in within the freeze period, the data is permanently deleted and cannot be recovered.

Paid members are unaffected while their subscription is active. After a subscription expires, the account reverts to free status and the same inactivity rules apply.

Policies of other major Chinese cloud‑storage services

Thunder Cloud (迅雷云盘) : After one year of no login, the free quota is reduced to 10 GB. Existing files remain accessible, but new uploads are blocked.

Baidu Cloud (百度网盘) : Inactive free accounts lose most of their quota, dropping from 2 TB to 100 GB. Files are retained, but uploading new files requires a paid membership.

Alibaba Cloud (阿里云盘) : Accounts idle for over a year are frozen. The freeze may disrupt third‑party app integrations. Users receive email or SMS reminders before the freeze. If the account is not re‑activated within one month, the storage space may be reclaimed and the data cleared.

Quark Cloud (夸克云盘) : Implements the same freeze‑then‑delete approach as Alibaba Cloud.

Motivations behind the cleanup policies

Operational cost reduction : Maintaining idle accounts consumes server hardware, electricity, bandwidth and data‑center resources without generating revenue.

Legal compliance : Inactive accounts often store pirated movies, cracked software or other copyrighted material. Under China’s Cybersecurity Law and related copyright regulations, providers must manage such content to avoid legal risk.

Business‑model shift : During the early “hundred‑disk wars” platforms offered massive free space to capture market share. With the market now mature, revenue relies on paid memberships, and dormant free users are viewed as liabilities rather than assets.

Impact of removing dormant accounts

Cleaning up inactive accounts releases large amounts of storage, lowers operating expenses, and allows providers to allocate resources to active users and paying members, thereby improving service stability and user experience.

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