How to Delete a Yahoo Email Account? Complete Guide

If you’re looking for a reliable method on how to delete a yahoo email account, then you are at the right place. Several users have noted that Yahoo Mail is down numerous times which leads to missing emails and delays in important communications. That is why they find it suitable to delete an old Yahoo email account. In this guide, we’ll show you how to delete Yahoo mail account permanently, temporarily, and on multiple devices, while taking care of important considerations. Let’s dive into the article.

Also Read:

• Alternative to Yahoo and AOL
• How to Switch Yahoo Email Account Back to Old Version?

Why Do People Delete a Yahoo Email Account?

Before you close a Yahoo email account, it’s good to understand some of the reasons many users take to delete a Yahoo email account forever. These may include:

• Privacy concerns: Many users feel concerned about data security or prefer services that offer better encryption.
• Switching providers: Some users move to Gmail or Outlook (or another service) to utilize better features.
• Too many accounts: Reducing the number of accounts online to help mitigate email clutter.
• Hacked account: Closing a compromised account for security purposes. Users delete a Yahoo email account that has been hacked
• Server Issues: Currently, Yahoo is facing several down time server issues that are affecting user’s productivity.

Regardless of the reasons, Yahoo gives users the option to either remove a Yahoo email account completely or deactivate an account temporarily.

Learn: How to delete an AOL account?

Important Things to Know Before You Close a Yahoo Email Account

When you delete a Yahoo email account forever, you’re not just deleting your inbox, you are also deleting:

• All of your Yahoo Mail messages (sent, received, and drafts.)
• Contacts that you saved in Yahoo Mail.
• Attachments and Calendar events.
• Access to Flickr and other Yahoo services that you might have associated with the account.
• Any type of paid Yahoo subscriptions that are linked to that account.

Once you remove a Yahoo email account, there may be a time where recovery is no longer possible, so it is important to backup the data.

Backup Before You Delete a Yahoo Email Account Permanently

Before you close a Yahoo email account, create a full backup. Even if you’re sure you want to delete it, you might need those old emails or attachments later for personal, financial, or legal matters.

Pro Tip: The easiest way to create a backup of your Yahoo account data is by using a professional Email Backup Tool for Mac and Windows which can:

• Download all of your Yahoo emails and attachments.
• Save Yahoo emails to Hard Drive.
• Backup all of your emails in one go, without limits.
• Export to various options including PST, MBOX, EML, PDF, etc.
• Import Yahoo emails to Gmail, Office 365, Outlook, Thunderbird, etc.
• Backup multiple Yahoo accounts simultaneously.

This reduces the risk of loss of data regardless of how many emails you need to back up. Once you have a satisfactory backup, you can delete a Yahoo email account that has been hacked without fear of losing information that is important in your day to day life.

How to Delete a Yahoo Email Account Permanently? Step-by-Step

To close a Yahoo email account permanently, follow these steps:

1. Sign in to the Yahoo account termination page.
   Go to: https://login.Yahoo.com/account/delete-user
2. Enter your login credentials.
   Log in with your Yahoo username and password.
3. Read the termination agreement.
   Yahoo will present you with information about what happens when you delete a Yahoo email account.
4. Confirm your decision.
   Type your email again and select Continue.
5. Acknowledge the consequences.
   Follow any confirmation prompts and select Yes, terminate this account.
6. Wait for the final deletion.
   Yahoo’s policy states that accounts remain inactive for 30 days (90 days in some locations) before being permanently deleted.

How to Deactivate a Yahoo Email Account Temporarily?

If you’re not ready to delete a Yahoo email account permanently, you can deactivate it by not using the account and cutting off all connected services. Yahoo doesn’t have a deactivate button like other services (which seems strange to me), but you can still:

• Sign out of all devices where your account is logged in.
• Turn off all email forwarding in settings.
• Turn off all notifications in the settings.
• Remove any connected third-party apps from your Yahoo account.
• Stop sending messages and receiving messages for now.

What this means is that all your information will still be in Yahoo’s system until you come back in. You can log back into your Yahoo email account whenever you want.

How to Reactivate a Yahoo Email Account?

If you disabled or recently attempted to delete a Yahoo email account, but had a change of heart, the account can be reactivated only within the grace period:

1. Go to the Yahoo Sign-In page.
2. Type in your email and password.
3. If it’s within the grace period (30-90 days) your account will be reopened with everything in it that hasn’t been removed.

Note: If the grace period has passed, you will be unable to reactivate your account and will have to create another account.

Risks of Deleting a Yahoo Email Account

Deleting a Yahoo email account is simple, but you should be aware of the risks to you:

• Important data loss: Any emails, contacts or attachments will be unavailable forever.
• Loss of linked services: After you delete a Yahoo email account, you will lose access to Flickr photos, Yahoo Finance portfolios, etc.
• No one can email you anymore: Anyone you provided your address won’t be able to email you after you close a Yahoo email account.
• Account name recycling: Yahoo will give your old email address to someone else after you close your account.

This is why a full backup is recommended before initiating to delete an old Yahoo Mail account.

Learn: How to add BT email to iPhone? 

Conclusion

In the above guide we explained how to delete a Yahoo email account on computer, mobile and other devices. There are a few things you need to think about before you remove your Yahoo email account. You need to think about if you want to close a Yahoo email account permanently or if you only want to deactivate the account temporarily, what the reactivation grace period means, and most importantly, the first thing you should do is back up your data. You can back up your messages, contacts, and attachments using an easy to use and trusted tool. You will not lose anything you want to keep.

Whether you’re going to a new email provider, shutting down accounts you are no longer using or creating a schedule to keep your digital life free of clutter, using the correct process will allow you to move smoothly and safely.

FAQs: Remove a Yahoo Email Account

Q1. How to delete a Yahoo email account on mobile?

Use your phone’s browser, go to the Yahoo Account Termination Page, sign in and delete your account.

Q2. How to delete a Yahoo email account on iPhone?

Open Safari, go to the account termination page, Sign in, and follow the prompts. You cannot do this directly from the iOS Yahoo Mail application.

Q3. How to delete a Yahoo email account that has been hacked?

You should first reset your password to lock down your account. Regardless, log in to the account termination page and delete your account.

Q4. How to close a Yahoo email account when someone dies?

You can contact Yahoo Support and present the necessary documentation (such as a death certificate and proof of authority) to request your accounts closure.

Q5. How to delete Yahoo email account from Android phone?

Use Chrome or another browser on your Android device to go to the termination page and follow the deletion steps.

QQ6. How to delete a Yahoo email on phone?

If you want to delete individual emails, do so within the Yahoo Mail app and select the emails by tapping and holding, then tap the delete icon. If you want to delete your full account, then use a web browser.

Q7. How to delete Yahoo email account in app?

In the application, you cannot delete or permanently delete an account; you must use the web browser.