How to Find and Delete Old Email Addresses
Old, unused email accounts compromise your security and privacy . With a compromised account, someone could impersonate you, search for personal information, or use the same password for your other accounts. The more rogue (and forgotten) accounts you have, the more doors to your personal information for sketchy people to pass through. This is especially true if you created accounts years ago without good password hygiene .
So, take a few minutes to remember, find, and delete the email addresses you no longer use. Some accounts are easy to remember, but to make sure you cover all the mail services you are connected to, try these steps:
- Google old usernames and email addresses.
- Check Facebook , Google and other apps for connected accounts.
- Find your saved logins in Chrome (or your preferred browser or password manager).
Before deleting old accounts, check if there are any connected services or data files that you will lose access to. For example, if you delete your Yahoo account, you will also lose your Flickr photos. If there is anything you want to keep, be sure to download it or move it to another storage service.
When everything is saved, follow these steps to remove email addresses from major service providers.
How to delete a Gmail account
You can get rid of one or more Gmail email addresses without deleting your entire Google user profile. Here’s how:
- Go to your Google Account Settings page (to make sure you’re signed in with the correct username, click the profile icon in the top right corner).
- From the menu on the far left, select Data and Personalization.
- Scroll to Upload, Remove, or Plan Your Data and select Remove Service or My Account.
- On the next page, click Remove Service.
- You will be prompted to sign in to your Google account again to verify your account – from there, you can download whatever data you need before selecting the trash can icon next to the service you want to delete.
- Enter a different email address that you will have access to in the dialog box and click Send Confirmation Email.
- Click the link in the confirmation email and follow the instructions to complete the uninstallation process.
This will permanently delete your messages and send a delivery failure notification to anyone who attempts to email you.
How to Delete a Yahoo Account
Unlike Google, Yahoo deletes all accounts associated with your login, in addition to your email. Follow these steps:
- Go to the Yahoo Delete User page and sign in.
- Read the account termination information and click “Continue deleting my account”.
- Enter your email address and click “Yes, close this account.”
You can recover a deleted Yahoo account within 30 days (up to 180 days in some countries).
How to delete an AOL account
Oh, AOL. If you’ve given up on AIM nostalgia forever, here’s how you can delete your AOL account:
- Log in to the Closing AOL Account page .
- From there, the steps will be similar to Yahoo (both owned by Verizon).
How to delete a Hotmail account
To delete your Hotmail email, you will have to close your entire Microsoft account and all associated services. This includes Skype usernames, MSN emails, and Outlook. Here’s how:
- Go to the “Close Your Account” page and sign in with the account you want to delete.
- Click Next, then read the list on the page and check the boxes to confirm that you have read each item.
- Go to the Select a Reason dropdown menu and select why you are closing your account.
- Click “Mark account to close.”
Your account will be permanently deleted after 60 days.
If you have an old school or work email address, it can be a little more difficult to confirm deletion. Companies and educational institutions often delete accounts within a specified period of time after employees and students leave, but if you are concerned about the status of the old email address, contact your network administrator.