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Peter Lu / 7.06.2023Home / Email Security

How to delete an email account efficiently

Learn how to delete an email account quickly and safely. Discover the best way to protect the security of your online conversations.

This comprehensive guide will show you how to delete an email account with popular providers, such as Apple Mail, Outlook, Gmail, and Yahoo. We'll explore the necessary precautions you should take before doing so and present the steps for effortless deletion.If you're not giving up on email communication entirely but switching to another provider, you will learn which security-fist alternative to consider.

Ensure unrivaled email security with SkiffWith a strict privacy policy and iron-clad email encryption, Skiff Mail values your integrity

How to close an email account—a step-by-step guide

Deleting an email account is similar for all email service providers, but there are crucial differences you should know to be able to complete the process seamlessly. We have covered the deletion process for the following four popular email services:

Apple iCloud Mail
Google’s Gmail
Microsoft Outlook
Yahoo! Mail

How to delete an old email account in Apple iCloud Mail

The first thing to know if you wish to deactivate or delete your iCloud account is that the action removes the iCloud account and its data from the device.To ensure optimal security, it is advisable not only to delete your iCloud account but also to deactivate your Apple ID. This way, you can prevent unauthorized access to your personal data and maintain the integrity of your information according to iCloud’s security practices.

Source: Trusted Reviews

Here is how to delete an iCloud account:

Sign in to your account
Click Request To Delete Your Account
Enter a reason and hit Continue

If you wish to deactivate specific iCloud services on your phone (such as Mail) without deleting your entire iCloud account, you can do so by disabling individual services to prevent them from syncing with the cloud. To delete an email account from iCloud, you should:

Navigate to the Settings menu, followed by iCloud
Look for a specific item named Mail, and toggle the slider

Once disabled, locally stored data will no longer sync with iCloud. This also means that you won't be able to recover data through the cloud in the event of data loss or theft.

How to delete an email account in Gmail

Source: Google

Here's how to delete a Gmail account:

Log into your Gmail account and find the profile picture in the upper-right corner of the screen. Click on this icon, and a drop-down menu will appear
Choose the Manage your Google Account choice from this menu. This action will direct you to your Google Account settings
Tap on the Data & Privacy tab located in the lefthand sidebar. This part allows you to control your data and privacy configurations
Scroll down until you come across the Download or delete your data section and select Delete a Google service. Verify your identity by re-entering your password or using two-factor authentication (if set up)
Locate the Gmail service in the catalog of Google services linked to your account. Click on the trash bin symbol or the Delete button adjacent to it
Follow the instructions to remove your Gmail account. After choosing the Gmail option, Google will present a confirmation message explaining the impacts of eliminating your Gmail account. Comply with the instructions to continue
Provide an existing email address when asked and hit Send verification email. This email must not be a Gmail address. To authenticate your existing address, you will receive a confirmation message, finalizing the deletion process

Source: Google

Note that deleting a Gmail account doesn’t entail deleting your entire Google account. You will still be able to access YouTube, Google Drive, or Google Photos with the same credentials.

How to remove an email account in Microsoft Outlook

To permanently close your Outlook.com email account, you need to close your Microsoft account. Once you do that, your email and contacts will be deleted from Microsoft servers, and you won’t be able to recover them. If you use your Microsoft account with Xbox, Skype, OneDrive, or other Microsoft services, you'll no longer be able to access those services.Before you close your account for good, Microsoft recommends completing this clean-up checklist:

Use any money you may have in your account
Cancel any subscriptions associated with your account
Let people know how to reach you in the future
Backup your important files and data

Source: Windows Report

Check out the steps for closing your Microsoft account:

Go to the Close your Microsoft account section located on the platform’s support page and initiate the process
Follow the instructions to sign in and/or verify your account (if prompted)
Check whether the page shows the correct Microsoft account, and then click Next
Read the list and click the checkboxes to acknowledge you’ve read each item
The terms of the closure will include choosing to be able to re-open your account in the next 30 or 60 days if you change your mind. Pick the more suitable option
Choose the reason why you're closing the account in the Select a reason drop-down list
Click Mark account for closure

How to permanently delete a Yahoo! Mail account

You can delete your Yahoo mail account at any time, provided it has no remaining balance and it's been 90 days since the end of the paid term for any canceled subscriptions.

Source: Yahoo! MailHere’s how to delete your Yahoo! Mail account:

Go to the Yahoo account termination page
Sign in to the Yahoo account you want to delete. You may be asked to enter your Yahoo Mail password for verification
Scroll down the page and confirm your decision by entering your password once again
Complete the CAPTCHA security verification
Click on the Terminate this Account button to initiate the deletion process

Your Yahoo! Mail account will be permanently deleted after a 30-day grace period. During this period, your account will be deactivated, and you won't be able to access it.

Source: Yahoo! Mail

It's important to note that after the 30-day grace period, you'll lose access to all your data and content, like your emails, email folders, and calendars. You should save any crucial data or emails from your Yahoo! Mail account before proceeding with the deletion process.

Looking for an alternative provider? Ensure it offers end-to-end encryption

Once you’ve successfully deleted your email account, you might be on the lookout for an alternative option, especially since the mentioned providers don’t offer satisfactory measures to keep your emails safe.

Get the most inclusive E2EE email serviceSkiff's bountiful productivity and safety features are easy-to-use and free for all users

One of the key elements to consider when exploring alternative email providers is end-to-end encryption (E2EE). This encryption standard ensures that only the sender and intended recipient can read the plaintext versions of emails, preventing unauthorized third parties from accessing and potentially misusing the information.Most mainstream email service providers offer encryption in transit to safeguard your emails. This encryption standard protects your messages while traveling between servers but leaves them vulnerable while resting on servers. The encryption also happens on the provider’s servers with the encryption keys created and stored by the provider. This endangers the security and privacy of your messages because:

A potential hacker can steal the decryption keys from the provider’s servers and access your messages
The email service can decrypt your messages at any time and read them

With E2EE, encryption and decryption occur on the sender's and recipient's devices, respectively, with the encryption keys created and stored by the user. This ensures the messages can only be accessed and read by the intended recipient and are not accessible to anyone—not even the email service provider.If you’re looking for an email service provider whose priority is the security and privacy of your emails, sign up for Skiff.

Skiff Mail—a comprehensive email service that prioritizes security

Skiff is the best choice for individuals and organizations due to its robust end-to-end encryption (E2EE), sleek design, user-friendly interface, and advanced features.

Skiff implements advanced end-to-end encryption (E2EE) to ensure your messages are safe from all unauthorized third parties, including Skiff's team. It uses two distinct keys to secure your online correspondence—one for encryption and another for decryption. The latter is generated by the user and remains on their device, which is crucial because:

Intercepted emails are unreadable to hackers without the decryption key
Hackers who infiltrate the provider's servers and the provider itself can't read the plaintext copies of your messages since they don't have access to the decryption key

Skiff allows you to sign up without leaving any personal information and doesn't store your login credentials on its servers, adding a crucial layer of security and privacy to your online communication. It also implements two-factor authentication (2FA) via the Authenticator app, preventing unauthorized access to your account even if someone steals your login credentials. The platform is open-source and completely transparent about its security practices—you can confirm its encryption model and other safety measures by reading the public whitepaper.

Enjoy Skiff’s end-to-end encrypted product suite

In addition to Skiff Mail, the platform provides a comprehensive end-to-end encrypted product suite comparable to Google Workspace or Microsoft Outlook. By signing up for Skiff, you also gain access to:

Check out the description of each product in the table below:

Skiff product	Details
Skiff Calendar	Integrates with Skiff Mail and lets you schedule private video conferences and create shared calendars with your team in a completely secure environment
Skiff Drive	Enables you to upload, share, and preview any file securely. It optionally integrates with InterPlanetary File System (IDFS), the largest decentralized storage system
Skiff Pages	Enables seamless collaboration while ensuring the privacy of your notes, documents, and wikis through end-to-end encryption

Skiff seamlessly integrates with your PC and smartphone devices—it is available on all major browsers and has dedicated apps for iOS, Android, and macOS.

Start exploring Skiff for free

Starting with Skiff's free plan, you can enjoy premium features, including a generous 10 GB of storage space, four email aliases, email search functionality, and more.Upgrading to paid plans unlocks even more benefits for efficient communication and day-to-day operations. The Pro and Business plans provide 100 GB and 1 TB of storage space, respectively, along with custom domains, up to 15 aliases, and unlimited messages, folders, and labels. The pricing structure goes as follows:

Skiff Essential	$3 per month
Skiff Pro	$8 per month
Skiff Business	$12 per month

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