How to Delete a Microsoft Account (Outlook, Xbox, OneDrive and More)

To delete a Microsoft account, sign in to your Microsoft account online, find the option to close your account, work through Microsoft’s checklist and confirm. Microsoft then marks the account for closure and waits for a period before deleting it for good, and signing back in during that time reopens it. Before you start, back up your OneDrive files and Outlook email, cancel Microsoft 365 and Xbox subscriptions, use up any account balance, save your BitLocker recovery keys and switch your Windows PCs to another sign-in.

A Microsoft account is often more tangled into your life than you expect. It can be your email address, your Windows login, your Xbox identity and the place your files are backed up, all at once. This guide covers how to unpick it safely.

Why deleting a Microsoft account matters

An old Microsoft account, especially one tied to a Hotmail, Live or Outlook.com address, can hold years of email, photos synced from a phone, documents in OneDrive and the recovery settings for other accounts. If it’s protected by an old password that has appeared in a breach, it’s an easy target for someone who wants to reset your passwords elsewhere or impersonate you.

The public side is smaller than with social networks, but it exists. An Xbox gamertag, a public profile, shared OneDrive links and old forum posts under your Microsoft identity can all be found. If an account carries a name or history you’ve moved on from, closing it removes those at the source.

If you think the account has been taken over, secure it before closing. Our Microsoft account recovery guide walks through the official recovery steps.

What you lose when you close a Microsoft account

Service	What happens
Outlook.com, Hotmail and Live email	Your mailbox is deleted and the address stops receiving mail.
OneDrive	Files and photos stored there are deleted, and shared links stop working.
Xbox	Your gamertag, achievements, saved games in the cloud and digital games are lost.
Microsoft Store purchases	Apps, games, movies and other content bought with the account become inaccessible.
Microsoft 365 and other subscriptions	Office apps licensed through the account stop working as full versions.
Account balance and gift cards	Any money in your Microsoft account balance is lost.
Windows sign-in	PCs that use the account to sign in need a different account.
Other apps using the login	Games like Minecraft and third-party sites using “Sign in with Microsoft” can lock you out.

A work or school account is different. It’s managed by your employer or school, and you can’t close it yourself. Ask the administrator.

If what you want gone is only the email address, our guide on how to delete an Outlook account covers the email side in more detail.

Money matters first

1. Cancel subscriptions. Check your Microsoft account’s services and subscriptions page for Microsoft 365, Xbox Game Pass, extra OneDrive storage and anything else recurring. Cancel each and note when it ends. If you subscribed through another store, cancel it there.
2. Spend your account balance. Money from gift cards or refunds sitting in your Microsoft account balance is lost when the account closes. Use it first.
3. Remove payment methods. Take saved cards off the account, or at least note which ones were saved so you can watch for charges.
4. Finish pending refunds and orders. Wait for anything in progress to complete before you close.

Download your data and save your keys

• OneDrive files and photos. Download everything you want to keep to a computer or external drive. Check that large folders came through complete.
• Outlook email and contacts. Export your contacts, and either import your mail into a new email provider or download the messages you need. Save receipts, tax documents and anything you may need in a dispute.
• BitLocker recovery keys. If a Windows PC encrypted its drive and saved the recovery key to your Microsoft account, write down or print that key before closing. Losing it can mean losing access to the drive if the PC ever asks for it.
• Product keys and licenses. Note any software licenses tied to the account, since they may not transfer.
• Your Microsoft privacy data. Microsoft’s privacy dashboard shows activity data such as browsing and search history linked to the account, and lets you view, download or clear it.

Move your sign-ins

1. Update every account that uses the email. Search your inbox for “welcome”, “verify” and “reset your password” and change the email on your bank, phone carrier, social media and shopping accounts.
2. Switch your Windows PCs. On each PC signed in with this account, add a different Microsoft account or a local account and make sure you can sign in with it before you close anything.
3. Sort out Xbox and family settings. If you manage a family group, or a child’s account depends on yours, deal with that first so their settings and purchases aren’t disrupted.
4. Replace “Sign in with Microsoft”. Add a password or another login to any app or site that uses your Microsoft account.

How to close your Microsoft account

Microsoft reorganizes its account pages from time to time, so these steps describe the route in general terms. Its support site has the current wording.

1. On a computer, sign in to your Microsoft account online with the account you want to close.
2. Go to Microsoft’s support pages and search for closing your account, which links to the closure page, or look for it in your account’s settings.
3. Microsoft may ask you to verify your identity with a code sent to your email or phone.
4. Read the checklist Microsoft shows. It explains what you’ll lose and asks you to confirm each point.
5. Choose how long you want Microsoft to wait before deleting the account permanently, if it offers a choice, pick a reason and mark the account for closure.

The waiting period

Microsoft doesn’t delete the account immediately. It marks it for closure and holds it for a waiting period, and during that time you can reopen it by signing in and following the prompts. After the period ends, the account and its data are permanently deleted.

That’s a useful safety net if you forgot to save a file. It also means any device or app still signed in could reopen the account by accident. Remove the account from mail apps, the Xbox console, old laptops and phones before you close it, and don’t sign in “just to check”.

What Microsoft may keep

Closing starts the deletion of your data, but Microsoft’s privacy statement explains that it may retain some information for as long as necessary for legal obligations, resolving disputes and enforcing agreements. Purchase and billing records are a common example. If you’re in a region with strong data protection law, you can ask what’s held. Our guide to making a data subject access request explains the process.

How to check it worked

1. Keep the confirmation Microsoft sends when you mark the account for closure.
2. After the waiting period has passed, email the old address from another account. It should bounce.
3. Check your card statements for Microsoft 365 or Xbox charges over the next billing cycles.
4. Sign in to each Windows PC with its new account to make sure it still works.
5. Search your old gamertag or email address. Public mentions on other sites stay until those sites remove them. Our guide to cleaning up your digital footprint covers those.

A worked example

This scenario is illustrative, not a real client. Keiko has a Hotmail address from her teens that she still uses to sign in to her home laptop and her Xbox. She wants a clean, professional identity and to stop getting spam at the old address.

1. She downloads her OneDrive photos to an external drive, exports her contacts and imports her old mail into her current email account.
2. She finds her laptop’s BitLocker recovery key in the account and saves a printed copy.
3. She creates a new Microsoft account for her laptop and her Xbox, signs in with it on both, and accepts that some old digital games won’t come with her.
4. She cancels a Microsoft 365 subscription, spends a small gift card balance and moves her bank and shopping accounts to her new email.
5. She removes the Hotmail account from her phone’s mail app, then marks the old account for closure and leaves it alone through the waiting period.

Common mistakes

• Closing the account your PC signs in with. Add another sign-in first.
• Forgetting BitLocker keys. They may exist only in the account you’re closing.
• Losing your balance. Gift card money in the account is gone once it closes.
• Reopening it by accident. A signed-in console, phone or mail app can undo the closure during the waiting period.
• Trying to close a work account. Only the administrator can do that.

Closing an account removes your side of the data. If the problem is content about you on sites you don’t control, our content removal service can help where the rules allow it, and we’ll tell you honestly when they don’t.

Frequently asked questions

Can I reopen a closed Microsoft account?

Yes, during the waiting period. Sign in and follow the prompts to reopen it. After the waiting period ends, the account is permanently deleted and can’t be recovered.

Does deleting my Microsoft account delete my Outlook email?

Yes. An Outlook.com, Hotmail or Live address is part of your Microsoft account, so closing the account deletes the mailbox and the address stops working.

What happens to my Xbox games if I close my Microsoft account?

Your gamertag, achievements, cloud saves and digital purchases are tied to the account and are lost when it’s deleted. They don’t transfer to a new account.

Can I still use Windows without a Microsoft account?

Yes, but switch first. Add a different Microsoft account or a local account to each PC, make sure you can sign in with it, and save any BitLocker recovery keys before closing the old account.

Why can't I close my Microsoft account?

Common reasons include an active subscription, a remaining balance, a family group that depends on the account or a work or school account managed by an administrator. Microsoft’s closure checklist usually says what’s blocking it.