Deleting a Hotmail account means losing access to everything tied to it

When you delete a Hotmail account (which Microsoft now calls Outlook.com), you lose access to your email, OneDrive files, Skype contacts, and any Microsoft services linked to that account. Microsoft gives you 60 days to change your mind and recover the account before permanent deletion happens. After those 60 days, the account and all its data are gone for good — Microsoft does not restore accounts after that window closes.

The deletion process itself takes only a few minutes, but the real work is preparing: backing up emails you want to keep, downloading files from OneDrive, and making sure you have not used this email address as the recovery method for other accounts. If you have, you need to update those accounts first.

Key Takeaways

  • You have 60 days after deletion to recover your account; after that, Microsoft permanently removes all data with no recovery option.
  • Before deleting, download or forward any emails you want to keep, because they will not be retrievable after the 60-day window.
  • Check whether this email address is the recovery method for other accounts (like Amazon, banking, or social media) and update them before you delete.
  • The deletion happens on Microsoft's account.microsoft.com site, not inside Outlook itself, and requires you to sign in one final time.

Back up your email and files before you start

The easiest way to save emails is to forward them to another email account you control. Open Outlook.com, select the messages you want to keep (or use Ctrl+A to select all), then use the forward button to send them in batches to your backup email. This takes time if you have years of mail, but it preserves the content in a readable format.

If you want to keep the original folder structure and attachments exactly as they are, you can download your data using Microsoft's export tool. Go to account.microsoft.com, sign in, select "Your info" on the left, then choose "Download your data." Microsoft will prepare a file containing your emails, calendar, and contacts, which you can download as a .pst file (the standard format Outlook uses). This file can be imported into another email client like Thunderbird or Gmail.

For OneDrive files, sign into OneDrive.com, select the files and folders you want to keep, download them to your computer, and store them somewhere safe. If you have a lot of files, this may take several hours depending on your internet speed.

Update recovery methods on other accounts that use this email

Before you delete, search your memory for every account that uses this Hotmail address as a login or recovery email. Common ones are banking apps, Amazon, PayPal, social media, streaming services, and work accounts. For each one, sign in and change the recovery email to a different address you control.

If you forget to update an account and later need to recover it, you will be locked out because the recovery email no longer exists. This is especially serious for financial accounts. Spend 15 minutes now going through your password manager (if you use one) or your email's sent folder to find password-reset emails, which often come from accounts you have forgotten about.

Sign in to your Microsoft account and start the deletion

Go to account.microsoft.com and sign in with your Hotmail address and password. On the left side, select "Your info." Scroll down and look for a link that says "Delete account" or "Close your account" — the exact wording changes occasionally, but it will be near the bottom of the page.

Click that link. Microsoft will ask you to confirm your identity by sending a code to a recovery email or phone number on file. Enter that code when prompted. You will then see a page explaining what will happen: your email, OneDrive, Skype, and any Microsoft services tied to this account will be deleted.

Understand what happens during the 60-day recovery window

After you click the final confirmation button, your account enters a 60-day "soft delete" state. During this time, you cannot sign in, but Microsoft has not yet destroyed your data. If you change your mind, you can recover the account by signing in at account.microsoft.com with your email and password — Microsoft will reactivate it immediately.

After 60 days pass, Microsoft permanently deletes all data associated with the account. This includes emails, files, photos, calendar events, and contacts. There is no way to recover anything after this point, and Microsoft will not make exceptions.

What happens to your email address after deletion

Your Hotmail address does not become available for someone else to register immediately. Microsoft holds it for a period (usually several months to a year, though the exact timeline is not public) before releasing it back into circulation. During that holding period, if someone tries to create a new account with that address, they will be told it is unavailable.

This means you do not have to worry about someone else taking over your old email address right away. However, it also means you cannot re-register it yourself if you change your mind after the 60-day recovery window closes.

If you want to keep the account but stop using it

Deletion is permanent. If you are just tired of the account but think you might need it later, consider deactivating instead. You can change your password to something you do not know, remove recovery methods, and simply stop using it. The account will sit dormant, and you can recover it later if needed.

Alternatively, you can set up an email forwarding rule so that all incoming mail goes to another address, then ignore the Hotmail account entirely. This keeps the account alive without requiring you to check it.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I delete my Hotmail account if I have not used it in years?

Yes. Microsoft does not require active use to delete an account. You can delete it at any time by signing in at account.microsoft.com. If you cannot remember your password, use the "Can't access your account" link on the sign-in page to recover access first, then proceed with deletion.

What if I delete my account but then need an old email for a password reset?

During the 60-day recovery window, you can sign back in and reactivate the account to retrieve old emails. After 60 days, the emails are gone permanently. This is why backing up important emails before deletion is critical.

Will deleting my Hotmail account delete my Microsoft 365 subscription?

If you have a paid Microsoft 365 subscription (Office, cloud storage, etc.), deleting the account will cancel it. You will lose access to those services. If you want to keep Microsoft 365, do not delete the account — instead, just stop using the email.

Can someone else recover my account after I delete it?

No. Only the person who knows the account password can recover it during the 60-day window. After 60 days, recovery is impossible regardless of who tries.

Do I need to delete my account, or can I just unsubscribe from emails?

Unsubscribing from emails is not the same as deleting the account. Unsubscribe removes you from marketing emails only. To fully remove the account and all its data, you must go through the deletion process at account.microsoft.com.