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Tired of Gmail? A new email service got your heart? Or, you’re just trying to get off the grid? Whatever reasons you have, Google is not one of those services that will make you suffer for leaving them. Deleting a Gmail account is much simpler than you’d imagine.

Before you commit, know that deleting Gmail will get rid of all your messages. Thankfully, Google will still allow you to use its other services like YouTube and Google Drive when you do this. The entire process isn’t hard. You’ll be required to click at different points and put in your password. You won’t need anything more for the process.

How to Delete a Gmail Account

To delete your Gmail account alone, this is what you should do:

Step 1: Head over to your Google Account Settings page.

Step 2: Now, click on the Data and Personalization option towards the left of the page.

Step 3: On this page, you will scroll down to Download, delete, or make a plan for your data.

Step 4: Now, click on Delete a service or your account.

Note: At this step, you can also decide to choose to Delete your Google Account and Data. This option will wipe your entire history and delete all your Google services.

Step 5: Now, choose the Delete a service option on the next page.

Step 6: After this page, you’ll receive a prompt to sign in to your account.

Step 7: On this step, Google will give you the option to choose what service you wish to delete. To delete Gmail specifically, click on the trashcan icon next to Gmail.

Tips: You can use this Download Data link if you want to keep a copy of all your Gmail messages through Google takeout.

Another cool feature is the fact that you can also copy your emails to a different Gmail account or even a new Gmail address.

Step 8: Use an email address that is different from the one you are closing. Doing this will help you sign in to Google services in the future. Write this in the How you’ll sign in to Google box.

Note: If you entered a secondary email address when you initially signed up, Google will use that address. You can choose to change this and create a new Google account username for your Google services.

Be sure to use an email address you have access to. This step is important as you will need the new email address to complete the deleting process.

Step 9: Click on Send verification email

Step 10: You will receive an email from no-reply@accounts.google.com and the subject is “Security alert for your linked Google account or Gmail Deletion Confirmation“.

Step 11: Click on the link in the message to begin the deletion. You might be prompted to log in to the Gmail account you are in the process of deleting.

Step 12: In the Confirm Gmail Deletion link, select Yes, I want to delete example@gmail.com permanently from my Google Account.

Step 13: Click on Delete Gmail. Once you’ve completed this step, you cannot undo any part of the entire process. All your Gmail messages and your account will be gone.

Step 14: Click on Done.

So, what happens to all the Emails in my deleted Gmail Account?

Google will permanently delete these emails and you will not be given access to them anymore. As we mentioned above, you can keep a copy of all your messages and access them through Google Takeout.

Note: If you ever used IMAP for your Gmail account, the only messages that will be kept are the ones in your local folder. All the emails on the server and folders will also be deleted alongside your Gmail account.

What if someone sends emails to my deleted Gmail Address?

If someone sends an email to your old Gmail address, they will get a delivery failure message. So, it’s best if you announce to your closest contacts that you have deleted your Gmail address.

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