How to delete your Gmail account permanently

Are you wondering how to permanently delete your Gmail account? If so, you’ve come to the right place. This article will tell you how to purge your Gmail account from the internet forever.

Jump to…

• How to delete your Gmail account
• What happens when you delete your Gmail account?
• 6 things to consider before deleting your Gmail account

How to delete your Gmail account

Note: If you use Gmail through your work, school, or other group, you’ll need to contact your administrator.

1. Sign in to your Google Account by going to myaccount.google.com and clicking Sign in, if you aren’t already signed in.

2. Enter your Gmail credentials and click Sign in.

3. On the left, click Data & privacy.

4. Scroll down to Data from apps and services you use.

5. Under “Download or delete your data,” select Delete a Google service.

6. You’ll be asked to re-enter your password. Do so now.

7. Next to Gmail, click the trash can symbol.

8. Enter a different email address you want to use to sign in to Google (you cannot use another Gmail address), and enter your current password. Click Send verification email.

9. Open the email from Google sent to your other address, and click on the provided link. This will verify your email address and take you to another page to delete your account.

10. When prompted, select Yes, I want to delete my Gmail account.

10. Click Delete Gmail, then Done.

Congratulations! You have successfully deleted Gmail from your Google account.

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How to delete your Gmail account on your phone

Delete your Gmail on iOS (iPhone and iPad)

1. Open the Gmail app on your device.
2. Tap your profile picture or initials in the top right corner to go to “Manage your Google Account.” You can also go to myaccount.google.com.
3. Tap Data & privacy.
4. Scroll to Data from apps and services you use.
5. Under “Download or delete your data,” tap Delete a Google service. You might need to sign in.
6. Next to Gmail, tap the trash can icon.
7. Enter a different email address you want to use to sign in to Google (you cannot use another Gmail address), and enter your current password. Click Send verification email.
8. Open the email from Google sent to your other address, and click on the provided link. This will verify your email address and take you to another page to delete your account.
9. When prompted, select Yes, I want to delete my Gmail account.
10. Click Delete Gmail, then Done.

Delete your Gmail on Android

1. On your Android phone or tablet, open your device’s Settings app > Google > Manage your Google Account.
2. At the top, tap Data & privacy.
3. Scroll to Data from apps and services you use.
4. Under “Download or delete your data,” tap Delete a Google service. You might need to sign in.
5. Next to Gmail, tap the trash can icon.
6. Enter a different email address you want to use to sign in to Google (you cannot use another Gmail address), and enter your current password. Click Send verification email.
7. Open the email from Google sent to your other address, and click on the provided link. This will verify your email address and take you to another page to delete your account.
8. When prompted, select Yes, I want to delete my Gmail account.
9. Click Delete Gmail, then Done.

What happens when you delete your Gmail account?

Deleting your Gmail account will delete all your emails and close your inbox.

If anybody tries to email you at that address after you’ve deleted the account, the email will bounce back.

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7 things to consider before deleting your Gmail account

1. Deleting your Gmail account will delete all your emails and close your inbox.

Note: Emails will still exist in the email accounts of the people with whom you’ve corresponded, unless they too have deleted their email accounts.

If anybody tries to email you at that address after you’ve deleted the account, the email will bounce back.

2. You will lose access to your account.

When you delete your Gmail account, you will no longer be able to send or receive email with that email address. Make sure to inform all relevant parties before shutting down your Gmail account.

3. You might lose access to third-party services associated with your Gmail account.

If your Gmail account is associated with any other accounts, you’ll have to update your accounts with a different email address. If you don’t do so, you might encounter these issues:

• Your Gmail account is associated with your social media accounts, and you can’t reset your passwords or recover your accounts.
• Your Gmail account is linked to your bank account. Three forms of ID and 14 hours of customer service calls later, and you still can’t access it.

4. You will lose all your emails

Before you hit the big red button and delete your Gmail account, you might want to download all of your data. Google has a great article to show you how to do this in its Google Accounts Help Center: How to download your data.

Unless, of course, your goal is to destroy every trace of it. Then by all means, fire away!

5. Deleting your Gmail account will not free up your username.

Nobody (including you) will be able to use your Gmail username (username@gmail.com) in the future. This ensures nobody can impersonate you at your old email account.

6. Deleting your Gmail account will not delete your Google Account.

Your Google Account will remain associated with things like your search history and YouTube account.

7. It is possible to recover your deleted Gmail account

Want to retrieve your deleted emails? You have a window of a few weeks to attempt to recover a deleted Gmail account. Find out how to recover a recently deleted Gmail account.

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Read more: How to unblock Gmail in high-censorship countries