Show
By Spike Team, November 23, 2021, 13 min read There are many reasons why you may no longer use an email account, from switching providers to simply outgrowing your original address – let’s be honest, doesn’t exactly scream professional. It can be easy to sign up for a new account and let the old one drift slowly into obscurity, but this leaves a significant hole in your online security. So instead, what you should be doing is deleting any account you don’t use! Of course, this is the case for all dormant accounts, but email is often connected to multiple services, making it much more vulnerable and thus a more significant security threat. If you’ve left accounts dormant for a while, it can be a little daunting to have to go in and delete them – especially when wanting to maintain data – but it’s a relatively simple process with most providers. We’ve created step-by-step guides on how to delete old email addresses from all the major providers, so you’ll have nothing to worry about. How to Delete a Gmail AccountGoogle accounts go way beyond simple email. They are used to connect to Youtube, Google Meet, Chat, Drive, Play, and more. You may think that you are forever stuck with that embarrassing address you set up all those years ago, but thankfully, that’s not the case: you can delete a Gmail account while keeping your Google account. You just need to provide an alternative email to sign in with. With that in mind, deleting your Gmail account can be done in a few simple steps:
If you wish to continue using other Google services that are associated with the email address you are deleting, enter an alternate email address as prompted. This will result in a verification email which once received will allow you to delete the Gmail account. Start Managing All Your Email Accounts In One Place How to Delete a Yahoo! Email AccountYahoo! email was one of the very early account providers, and with such a legacy, there is a good chance that many people will have outdated accounts hanging about. What’s more, in 2013, they fell victim to the most significant data breach in history, with all of Yahoo’s 3 billion users affected. In short, there are a few good reasons you may be looking to delete your account. Let’s find out how.
The final step is to not sign into the account for thirty days. Otherwise, it will be reactivated. Users in some countries will have to wait even longer, such as 90 days in Australia and 180 days in Brazil. How to Delete Outlook AccountNever one to keep things clear, Microsoft Outlook refers to the email client (that is on your desktop) as well as their email provider (which you may access from Outlook.com). Removing an account from Outlook (client) does not deactivate the account. However, knowing how to do both can be very useful, so let’s start with removing an account and move on to deactivating it. How to Remove an Account from Outlook (Client)It is worth noting that an email account in Outlook can be from any provider. These steps are for Outlook, Outlook 2019, 2016, 2013, and 2010.
How to Deactivate an Account from Outlook (Provider)Closing your Outlook.com account will close your Microsoft account. This will result in losing access to any Microsoft services that you have connected to it, such as Xbox, Skype, and OneDrive.
How to Delete an AOL Email AccountAOL was the first foray into the world of email for many people, but everything came to an end eventually. If you still have an AOL login and are wondering how to delete your mail account, follow these simple steps:
Your AOL account has now been marked for deletion, which takes around 30 days in most countries. If you wish to keep a copy of the data associated with your AOL account before deleting it then you can make a request:
It can take up to 30 days for the data request to process and the download to be ready, so if you’re just looking for how you remove an email account, check if you need this old data. How to Delete a Zoho Mail AccountIf your Zoho Mail account is part of a company service, you will need to ask that company to delete your account. If it is a personal mail account that you have set up, you can delete the account yourself:
Remember that closing your Zoho Account removes access to all of the Zoho tools. How to Delete an iCloud Mail AccountYou can’t delete an iCloud Mail account without deleting your entire Apple ID, so there are a few steps you should consider taking before committing to your email’s closure. First, download all the files that are associated with the account. This could be a serious amount depending on the number of Apple products you use. It includes:
Next, you should remove any devices that you have associated with the account to associate them with a new Apple ID easily. To do this:
Now, how to actually delete an iCloud Mail account:
It will take up to 7 days for your account to be deleted. How to Delete a ProtonMail AccountProtonMail has become increasingly popular for its focus on security and privacy, but that doesn’t mean you’ll never want to delete your account. First, however, secure an account if you’re not using it. Since ProtonMail is so security-focused, they make deleting your account very simple and highly effective – once it’s gone, it’s gone. So, think hard before following the next steps on how to delete an old email address on ProtonMail.
As with other services, when you delete your ProtonMail account, you also lose access to the other Proton apps, such as Proton Drive and Proton Calendar. How to Delete a Tutanota AccountTutanota is another security-focused email provider, this time based out of Germany. Their motto is einfach.sicher.mailen, meaning easy.secure.mailing and deleting an account with them is pretty easy too. Follow these steps to find out how you remove a Tutanota email account:
There is no way to recover the account, so make sure you are confident before hitting the Delete button! How to Delete a Mail.com AccountDeleting a Mail.com account is relatively simple and can be achieved in a few simple steps. Unlike other providers, Mail.com accounts aren’t really tied to other services so you shouldn’t have to worry about losing access to other tools.
Your account has now been deleted and the name (i.e. the address) won’t be available for a year. Keep in mind that this is much shorter than more secure providers (such as ProtonMail and Tutanota), which never reuse a deleted email address. How to Delete a GMX Email AccountGMX Mail has the same parent company as Mail.com (United Internet), so it is no surprise that the method to delete an account is the same for both providers. If you’re looking for how to remove a GMX email account, simply:
Just as with sister-brand Mail.com, your address will not be available for anyone else for a year. Don’t Want to Delete Old Email Accounts?If you don’t want to delete old email accounts but are also aware of the security risks if they sit and linger, then the answer is consolidating them within a single email client. Spike allows you to combine all your accounts in a single app so you can keep an eye on them without having to lose your data or associated services. What’s more, Spike gives these old emails a 21st-century boost by equipping them with:
Additionally, Spike offers all the productivity tools you need right within your inbox, including everything from Video Meetings and Online Notes to Voice Messages and interactive Tasks. So, if you’d rather consolidate than liquidate, try bringing your old account into Spike. Otherwise, follow our simple steps on how to delete an email account on all major email service providers. How To Delete An Email Account FAQsHow do I remove an email from my Google account? Google makes it very simple to delete a Gmail account. Simply go to your account, select Data & Privacy, scroll down to the Data from apps and services you use section and look for the Download or delete your data box. Click on Delete a Google service and enter your password if prompted. Click on the trash bin icon next to Gmail. How do you delete an email account on an iPhone? If you’re looking to delete an email account from your iPhone, first navigate to Settings then to Mail. Click Accounts and then select the email account you wish to delete. Scroll down and click Delete Account. Confirm your choice by tapping Delete from My iPhone. How do you delete a Gmail account on an Android phone? Be aware that since Google accounts sync with Android phones, removing your account will also remove all associated data and access to tools. That said, if you want to remove an account then:
How do you delete an email account on a computer? To access email accounts on a computer, you will generally be using an email client such as Spike, Thunderbird, or Outlook. How you delete an account will depend on the client, but generally speaking if you remove an account from your computer, this will not delete the email account itself. For that, you will normally have to go direct to the provider. Spike Team The Spike team posts about productivity, time management, and the future of email, messaging and collaboration. |