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How to Delete a Microsoft Account?
Close the account at account.microsoft.com (Close your Microsoft account), after you've backed up Outlook/OneDrive files and canceled paid subscriptions. That deletes the Microsoft account (Outlook.com / Xbox / OneDrive login). Signing out of Windows or switching to a local user is not the same step.
Updated Accounts & Subscriptions
Before you click close
- Download or move OneDrive and Outlook.com mail you still need.
- Cancel Microsoft 365, Game Pass, Xbox, and app-store subs billed to that account.
- If this account is how you sign into Windows, set up a local account or another Microsoft account first so you're not locked out of the PC.
Typical path
- Sign in at account.microsoft.com.
- Open Security or the privacy / devices area and find Close your Microsoft account (Microsoft moves the link; search that phrase on the site if the menu shifted).
- Work through the checklist (why you're leaving, prove you own the account).
- Confirm. You choose a 30- or 60-day reopen window. Signing in during that window can cancel the closure.
What stays behind: some purchase records and legal logs. Xbox gamertags and some digital licenses can be messy to recover — read the close-account warnings for games you paid for.
Work/school accounts (onmicrosoft.com): you can't close those yourself; an admin has to. That's not a personal Outlook.com account.
The closest sibling pages are How to Delete a YouTube Channel? and How to Hide Amazon Orders?.
See the Accounts & Subscriptions topic for other answers in this topic, or start from Ask AI Questions home.
Researched content
Sources
- Microsoft Support — How to close your Microsoft account — support.microsoft.com
Frequently Asked Questions
Is signing out of Windows the same as deleting a Microsoft account?
No. Signing out or switching to a local user leaves the Microsoft account online. Closing it is a separate step on account.microsoft.com.
Can you undo closing a Microsoft account?
Yes during the 30- or 60-day reopen window you choose on the close-account page. After that, it's gone.
Can you delete a work Microsoft account yourself?
No. Work or school accounts are closed by an organization admin, not from a personal close-account page.