Close a Hotmail Account: 6 Easy Steps

If you've changed your primary email address and are no longer using Hotmail, you may be thinking of permanently deleting a hotmail.com email address. In this article, we provide an easy-to-follow instruction that will help you along the way.

But before you begin, consider whether you really need to delete your Hotmail account.

Hotmail.com email addresses are owned by Microsoft, so your Hotmail account is a part of your Microsoft account. This means that to delete a Hotmail.com email address, you'll have to delete your Microsoft 365 account that is associated with this address.

If you are ready for this, read on! Otherwise you may consider simply removing your Hotmail account from Outlook or any other email app you're using.

In this article:

• Can you delete a Hotmail email address permanently?
• How to close a Hotmail account in 6 simple steps
• Frequently asked questions about deleting a Hotmail account

Can you delete a Hotmail email address permanently?

A lot of people are wondering if they can delete a hotmail.com email address immediately and permanently. And the answer is: permanently — yes, immediately — no.

After you request to close your account, Microsoft will not delete it right away. Your account will be deactivated first and you will have 30 or 60 days (depending on your choice) to re-open it in case you change your mind. This helps prevent fraudulent activity and protect your account.

In the next section of this article, we explain how you can deactivate your Hotmail account and mark it for closure.

How to close a Hotmail account in 6 simple steps

Here's how you can close the account safely:

1. Cancel your Microsoft subscriptions.
2. Save your email history into another online account before you delete your Hotmail email address.

   We recommend saving old emails into another online account because this will make your Hotmail archive easily accessible. Keeping an archive of your old email online is also safer than storing it on a hard drive.

   If you want the job to be done automatically, try VaultMe. VaultMe is a paid service, but it may cost you more time and effort to move your Hotmail.com email into another account by yourself.

   VaultMe can migrate your Hotmail emails into almost any email provider's inbox (Gmail, Outlook, Yahoo, and others). It can also transfer your OneDrive files, contacts, and calendars to another account.

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3. Replace your old Hotmail address with another email address in all online services that are associated with it.

   You should make sure that none of your online accounts are linked to the unwanted Hotmail address before you delete the account. You will have to go through all services associated with the old hotmail.com email address one by one and replace the address there.

4. Let other people know that you will be deleting your Hotmail email account soon.

   Your account will continue to receive emails during the 30 or 60-day waiting period, even if you don't sign in to it. You can use this period to notify people in your contact list that your Hotmail address is no longer in use and will be deleted soon. To do that, you can send a batch email or you can create an automatic reply.

   

   You can also automatically forward emails from Hotmail to another email address during this time.

   

   Note that after your Hotmail email account is deleted permanently, automated rules will no longer work.

5. Go to the "Close your account" page and follow Microsoft's instructions to delete your Hotmail email account.

   

6. Wait for your Hotmail account to be deleted permanently.

   Remember that Microsoft will not delete your email account instantly. It will deactivate it for 30 days or 60 days (depending on your choice) which will leave you the option of re-opening it.

   If you sign in to your Hotmail account during the waiting period from any of your devices, it will be reactivated automatically.

Frequently asked questions about deleting a Hotmail account

1. Can I temporarily deactivate my Hotmail account?

   Yes, marking your account for closure will deactivate it for 30 days. You need to sign in to your Hotmail account within 30 days of the deactivation date to avoid permanent deletion.

2. How do I delete my Hotmail account permanently?

   Request cancellation and wait 30 or 60 days (depending on your choice). Avoid signing in to your Hotmail account during the waiting period as signing in to the account will reactivate it.

3. What happens if I delete my Hotmail account?

   All data associated with your Hotmail / Microsoft 365 account will be removed. You will not be able to use any Microsoft services that are linked to this email address. However, you can avoid losing your email history and your OneDrive files if you migrate them to a different account before requesting cancellation of the account.

4. What happens to closed Hotmail accounts?

   Deleted Hotmail accounts are closed permanently and cannot be recovered. We recommend copying your Hotmail emails and OneDrive files to a different account before closing your Hotmail account. This way, once a Hotmail account is closed, your content will be safely stored in a different account.

5. Is a Hotmail account deleted after inactivity?

   Yes, you need to sign in to your Hotmail email account at least once every 365 days to avoid deactivation.