How to Delete an Outlook or Hotmail Account

The single most important thing to understand: an @outlook.com, @hotmail.com, @live.com, or @msn.com address is not a standalone email account. It's the username of a Microsoft account that may also own your OneDrive files, Xbox games, Skype, and Microsoft 365 subscription. That gives you two very different paths:

• Remove just the address (alias) — if the address you want rid of is one of several aliases on the account, you can delete the alias and keep everything else. Nothing but the address is lost.
• Close the entire Microsoft account — the only way to delete your last remaining address, and it takes OneDrive, Xbox, Skype, and purchases with it.

Option 1: Remove just an alias (keep the account)

If your Microsoft account has more than one address — say an old @hotmail.com alias alongside a newer @outlook.com one — you can delete the unwanted address without touching anything else:

1. Open your sign-in settings

   Go to account.live.com/names (Microsoft calls this "Manage how you sign in to Microsoft"). Sign in and verify with your usual second factor.

2. Make sure the alias you're removing isn't the primary

   You can't remove the primary alias directly. If it's the one you want gone, first click Make primary on another alias (add a new one on this page if needed), then proceed.

3. Remove the alias

   Click Remove next to the address and confirm. Mail sent to that alias stops being delivered to your inbox. Your files, subscriptions, and other aliases are unaffected.

If the address you want to delete is the account's only address, alias removal isn't available — continue below.

Before closing: back up and untangle

1. Export your mail

   The most complete method is a desktop client: add the account to classic Outlook for Windows and use File → Open & Export → Import/Export → Export to a file (.pst), or sync everything into Thunderbird or Apple Mail over IMAP/Exchange and keep a local copy. Alternatively, Microsoft's privacy dashboard at account.microsoft.com/privacy lets you download some account data. Verify the export opens before going further.

2. Download OneDrive files and Outlook contacts/calendar

   Everything in OneDrive is deleted with the account — download it all. In Outlook.com, export Contacts to CSV and your Calendar to ICS while you still can.

3. Cancel subscriptions and spend balances

   Under account.microsoft.com → Services & subscriptions, cancel Microsoft 365, Game Pass, Copilot Pro, extra OneDrive storage — anything recurring. Spend or transfer any Microsoft account balance and Skype credit; both are forfeited at closure.

4. Untangle Xbox, Windows, and third-party logins

   Your gamertag, digital game licenses, and save data tied to this account die with it — there's no transfer. If a Windows PC signs in with this account, switch it to a local account or a different Microsoft account first. Then update every external site that uses this address for login or password resets — Microsoft addresses can eventually be re-registered by strangers, so a forgotten bank login pointing here is a security risk.

Option 2: Close the Microsoft account

1. Start the closure flow

   Sign in and go to account.live.com/closeaccount.aspx (or search "how to close your account" in Microsoft support and follow the official link). Microsoft may ask you to verify your identity with a code sent to a phone or alternate email.

2. Choose your waiting period: 30 or 60 days

   Microsoft asks whether the account should wait 30 or 60 days before permanent deletion. Pick 60 if you're at all unsure — the account is unusable either way during the wait, but the longer window is a bigger safety net.

3. Work through the checklist

   The next screen lists consequences — losing mail, OneDrive files, Xbox purchases, Skype, subscriptions, and remaining balances. You must tick every checkbox to acknowledge each item. Don't rush this list; it frequently surfaces something forgotten, like an active subscription or a child's linked account.

4. Select a reason and confirm

   Choose a closure reason from the dropdown and click Mark account for closure. The account is immediately deactivated and the countdown starts. Microsoft shows the date after which the account can't be recovered — note it down somewhere outside this account.

What happens during and after the waiting period

• During the wait, the account is frozen, not deleted. You can't use mail, OneDrive, or Xbox, but everything is held intact in case you return.
• Reactivating is as simple as signing in. Sign in at any Microsoft login page within your 30/60-day window, verify your identity, and confirm you want to keep the account. The closure is cancelled and everything comes back.
• After the window, deletion is permanent. Mail, files, contacts, and purchase licenses are erased. Microsoft support cannot restore an account past its deletion date.
• Mail to the address eventually bounces — and because Microsoft has historically allowed some old addresses to be re-registered after a holding period, mail could one day reach a new owner instead. This is why updating your other accounts first matters (see our guide on what to do when your email is exposed for the same reasoning).
• Work or school accounts are different. If the address ends in your employer's or university's domain, it's managed by their administrator — this flow doesn't apply, and only the admin can delete it.

Frequently asked questions