Yahoo Mail is one of the oldest and most popular webmail services. At its peak in the early 2000s, Yahoo Mail had over 250 million users worldwide. However, with the rise of Gmail, Outlook.com and other webmail providers, many people have moved away from Yahoo Mail over the years.
If you’re looking to delete your Yahoo Mail account, there are a few things you need to do first before closing it for good. In this comprehensive guide, we’ll walk through the steps to delete your Yahoo Mail account, including downloading your data, removing connected services, and canceling paid subscriptions.
Why You Might Want to Delete Your Yahoo Mail Account
Here are some common reasons people decide to delete their Yahoo Mail account:
- You don’t use it anymore and want to declutter
- You’re concerned about privacy and want to minimize your online presence
- You had a compromised account and want to start fresh
- You want to consolidate to a single email provider
- You’re unhappy with changes to the Yahoo Mail service
Before deleting your account, think about whether you still need access to old emails and contacts. Once your account is deleted, it’s difficult to recover that data.
Download Your Yahoo Mail Data
Before deleting your Yahoo account, make sure to download a copy of your data. This includes:
- Emails
- Contacts
- Calendars
- Notes
- Files stored in Yahoo (documents, photos)
To download your Yahoo Mail data:
- Go to the Yahoo Account Info page and sign in.
- Click on “Download your data” under Account management.
- Select the types of data you want to download.
- Enter your account password to confirm the download request.
- Yahoo will email you a link when your download is ready. The download link expires after 7 days.
- Save the ZIP file containing your Yahoo data to your computer.
Be sure to download your data before continuing with account deletion. Yahoo only retains data for deleted accounts for 30 days.
Remove Connected Accounts and Services
Before closing your Yahoo account, disconnect any third-party apps or accounts that are linked to your Yahoo ID. This includes:
- Other email accounts – If you use your Yahoo email to log in to other accounts, update those logins with a new email.
- Yahoo Fantasy Sports – Download data and change the account email if you want to preserve your fantasy teams.
- Flickr – Download your photos and link your Flickr account to a non-Yahoo email.
- Yahoo Answers – Change your account information if you want to keep using Yahoo Answers.
- Yahoo Messenger – Download chat history and save contact details.
You may need to contact customer support for some services to fully disconnect your Yahoo account.
Cancel Any Paid Yahoo Services
Check for any paid Yahoo subscriptions associated with your account and cancel them before closing your account:
- Yahoo Premium services – Includes custom email addresses, ad-free mail, extra storage. Cancel automatic renewals.
- Flickr Pro membership – Check your Flickr account settings and turn off auto-renewal.
- Yahoo Domains – Transfer your purchased domains to another registrar.
You’ll need to cancel these services manually. Closing your Yahoo account does not automatically stop paid subscriptions.
Delete Your Yahoo Account
Once you’ve downloaded your data and removed linked services, you’re ready to delete your Yahoo account:
- Go to the Yahoo Account Info page and sign in.
- Click “Close account” under Account management.
- On the Account Closure page, click Continue to close your account.
- Enter your account password and click Close Account to confirm.
It may take up to 90 days for Yahoo to fully delete your account data from their systems.
Yahoo Account Deletion FAQs
Can I reactivate my account after deleting it?
No, once your Yahoo account is closed it cannot be reactivated. You’ll have to create a new Yahoo account if you want to use their services again.
What happens to my Yahoo email address after I delete my account?
Your Yahoo email address becomes inaccessible after account deletion. Yahoo recycles inactive email addresses, so it’s possible someone else could register your old Yahoo email in the future.
Will people get bounceback emails if they email my old Yahoo address?
For the first 30 days after deletion, senders will get a message saying the account no longer exists. After that, emails will hard bounce back.
Can I delete my Yahoo account if I’m under 18?
No, Yahoo requires you to be 18+ to delete your account. If you’re under 18, you’ll need to wait until you turn 18 to close your Yahoo account.
What if I only want to delete my Yahoo Mail but keep my other services?
Unfortunately, Yahoo doesn’t allow you to delete just one service. You can only close your entire Yahoo account, which impacts all associated Yahoo properties.
Alternatives to Closing Your Yahoo Account
Permanently deleting your Yahoo account closes access to all Yahoo services. Here are some alternatives to account deletion:
- Deactivate your account – This hides your profile but keeps your data intact.
- Leave account open but ignore emails – You won’t be able to reclaim your Yahoo email address.
- Forward Yahoo emails to a new account – Get your messages without signing into Yahoo Mail.
If you do decide to close your Yahoo account, be sure to follow all the steps above to preserve your most important data and prevent future complications.
Conclusion
Deleting your Yahoo account is a permanent action that removes access to Yahoo Mail, groups, photos, fantasy teams, and other services tied to your Yahoo ID. Before closing your account:
- Download a copy of your Yahoo data including emails, contacts, and files.
- Disconnect any linked accounts like Facebook and remove your Yahoo login from other sites.
- Cancel paid subscriptions like Flickr Pro and Yahoo Premium.
Once your account is closed, your Yahoo email and other data will eventually be removed from Yahoo’s servers and become inaccessible. Be sure you want to fully close your account before clicking that final account deletion button.