How to Delete an Outlook Account (Without Losing What Matters)

To delete an Outlook account, you close the Microsoft account it belongs to, because an Outlook.com, Hotmail or Live address is a Microsoft account rather than a separate product. Export your email and contacts first, cancel any Microsoft 365 or Xbox subscriptions, then start closure from Microsoft’s account settings. Microsoft holds the account in a waiting period before deleting it for good, and signing back in during that time cancels the closure. If you only want to stop using one address, removing it as an alias may be enough.

This guide explains how the pieces fit together, what to save before you go, and what closing the account does and doesn’t remove.

An Outlook address is a Microsoft account

This is the part that catches most people out. When you signed up for an Outlook.com or Hotmail address, Microsoft created a Microsoft account with that address as its username. The same sign-in also covers OneDrive, Xbox, Microsoft Store purchases, Microsoft 365, Teams and Windows sign-in on your PC.

So there is usually no way to delete “just Outlook” while keeping everything else under that same account. You have three realistic options.

What you want	What to do	What happens to other Microsoft services
Stop using the Outlook address but keep the account	Add another email as an alias, make it primary, then remove the Outlook alias	OneDrive, Xbox, purchases and subscriptions stay
Stop using Outlook on a device	Remove the account from the Outlook app or Mail app	Nothing changes; the mailbox still exists
Leave Microsoft completely	Close the Microsoft account	Everything tied to it is closed, including files, purchases and gamertag

If you’re leaving Microsoft entirely, our sister guide on how to delete a Microsoft account covers the wider closure, including Xbox, Windows and purchases. This page focuses on the email side.

Work and school addresses are different. If your Outlook address ends in a company or university domain, the organization’s IT administrator controls it, and you can’t close it yourself. Ask them.

Before you delete: export, cancel, reroute

1. Export your mailbox. Outlook.com has an option in its settings, under privacy and data, to export your mailbox. Microsoft prepares the file and emails a link when it’s ready. You can also connect the account to a desktop email program and copy folders across. Check the export opens before you go further.
2. Save contacts and calendars. Contacts can be exported as a file from the People section. Calendars can be exported or shared into a new calendar service. These are easy to forget until someone’s birthday or a recurring meeting disappears.
3. Download OneDrive files and photos. Closing the account closes OneDrive too. Download everything you want to keep, including the photos your phone may have backed up automatically.
4. Cancel subscriptions and use up balances. Cancel Microsoft 365, Xbox Game Pass and any other recurring payments in the services and subscriptions area of your account. Money in your Microsoft account balance and unused gift card value is lost when the account closes, so spend it first. Microsoft’s own closure page lists what you’ll lose.
5. Move logins and recovery emails. Your Outlook address is probably the username or recovery address for banks, shopping sites, social media and government services. Change each one to your new email now. Once the Outlook address stops receiving mail, password resets sent there go nowhere.
6. Set up forwarding for a while. Before closing, you can forward incoming mail to your new address and send a short note to important contacts. That catches senders you forgot.
7. Keep evidence if needed. If you’re leaving because of harassment or a dispute, save the relevant emails in your export and keep a copy somewhere safe before the mailbox is gone.

How to delete your Outlook account

Microsoft changes its menus from time to time, so these steps are deliberately general. The wording on the screen may differ slightly.

1. Sign in to your Microsoft account in a web browser with the Outlook address you want to delete.
2. Open the account page and look for the option to close your account. Microsoft’s help pages link to it directly if you can’t find it.
3. Verify your identity when asked, usually with a code sent to your recovery phone or email.
4. Read the list of what will be lost. Microsoft asks you to tick each item to confirm you understand it.
5. Choose how long Microsoft should wait before permanent deletion, if offered, and give a reason.
6. Mark the account for closure. Microsoft shows the date it will be permanently deleted.

During the waiting period, the account is closed but recoverable. Signing in again reopens it. That’s useful if you change your mind, but it also means you shouldn’t sign in “just to check”, and you should sign out of the account on every phone and computer so an app doesn’t quietly reopen it.

Removing an Outlook alias instead

If you’d rather keep your Microsoft account, go to the section of your account settings that manages how you sign in. Add a different email address as an alias, make it the primary alias, and then remove the Outlook address. Mail sent to a removed address stops arriving, and you may not be able to add it back later. Check Microsoft’s help pages for the current rules before removing an address you might want back.

What deleting Outlook removes, and what it doesn’t

What goes

• Your mailbox: inbox, sent mail, folders and attachments.
• Contacts and calendars stored in the account.
• Everything else tied to the same Microsoft account, including OneDrive files, Xbox profile and purchased digital content.

What stays

• Emails you sent. Every message you sent sits in the recipient’s mailbox. Closing your account doesn’t touch copies held by other people or companies.
• Accounts elsewhere using that address. Sites where you registered with the Outlook address keep your account and data. Close or update those separately.
• Records Microsoft must keep. Microsoft’s privacy statement says it keeps some data for as long as needed for legal, tax, security and fraud purposes, and that deleted data can take time to clear from backups.
• Your address in breach lists or on the public web. If the address appeared in a data breach, a forum post or a people-search site, those copies aren’t affected.

If you can’t sign in

You need to sign in before you can close the account. Use Microsoft’s official recovery form and password reset only. If a stranger has taken over the account, treat it as a security problem first: our guide to Microsoft account recovery walks through securing the account, and the general email account hacked guide covers warning your contacts and checking linked accounts.

Anyone offering to “recover” or “delete” a Microsoft account for a fee is almost certainly a scammer. Microsoft doesn’t have a paid route, and it doesn’t cold-call people about their accounts.

If you simply stop using the account, Microsoft may eventually close it for inactivity under its services agreement. Relying on that isn’t a good plan, though: the mailbox and any personal data stay until it happens, and someone who guesses the password in the meantime has access to everything.

A worked example

This scenario is illustrative, not a real client. Dario set up a Hotmail address as a teenager with a nickname he no longer wants linked to him. It’s still the login for his bank, a streaming service and his old Xbox profile. He wants a clean, professional address and nothing left under the old name.

1. He creates a new address with another provider and changes the login email on his bank, streaming service and every other site he can find by searching the old inbox for “welcome” and “verify”.
2. He exports his mailbox and downloads his OneDrive photos, then checks both open on his laptop.
3. He cancels a small Microsoft 365 subscription and spends his leftover account balance.
4. He sets up forwarding to the new address for a few weeks and catches two services he’d missed.
5. He switches his Windows sign-in to his new account, signs out on his phone, then closes the Microsoft account and leaves it alone through the waiting period.
6. Finally, he searches the old nickname and email address to see where they still appear. A gaming forum profile shows the address, so he edits it.

Common mistakes

• Removing the app and assuming the account is gone. Deleting the Outlook app or removing the account from a phone leaves the mailbox exactly as it was.
• Forgetting the address is a recovery email. If your bank still sends reset links to a closed mailbox, getting back into the bank becomes a much bigger job.
• Losing OneDrive photos. Many people don’t realize their phone backed photos up to the same account.
• Signing back in during the waiting period. That reopens the account and you’ll need to start again.
• Leaving other old accounts behind. An old Outlook address is often one of several. A broader digital footprint cleanup catches forgotten profiles, and our guide to deleting a Gmail account covers the Google equivalent.

If an old address or username is tied to search results you’d rather people didn’t see, our personal reputation management team can look at what can be removed and what’s better outranked.

Frequently asked questions

Can I delete my Outlook email without deleting my Microsoft account?

Not directly, because the Outlook address is your Microsoft account. You can, however, add a different email as an alias, make it primary and remove the Outlook address, which keeps the rest of your Microsoft services.

How long does it take to delete an Outlook account?

Microsoft marks the account as closed straight away and then waits for a set period before permanently deleting it. The closure screen shows the date, and Microsoft’s help pages list the current waiting periods.

Can I recover a deleted Outlook account?

During the waiting period, yes: sign in and the account reopens. After permanent deletion, the mailbox and files can’t be restored.

Will people still be able to email my old Outlook address?

They can send to it, but the mail won’t be delivered once the account is closed. Tell important contacts your new address before you close it.