How to Delete Your Yahoo Mail Account Permanently

Look for the Delete My Account link on your Privacy Dashboard page. Don't forget to stop automatic charges!

By
Heinz Tschabitscher
Heinz Tschabitscher
Heinz Tschabitscher
Writer
  • University of Vienna
A former freelance contributor who has reviewed hundreds of email programs and services since 1997.
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Updated on May 13, 2024
Reviewed by
Jon Fisher
Jon Fisher headshot
Reviewed by Jon Fisher
  • Wichita Technical Institute
Jonathan Fisher is a CompTIA certified technologist with more than 6 years' experience writing for publications like TechNorms and Help Desk Geek.
lifewire's editorial guidelines

What to Know

  • First, cancel premium services you're subscribed to through Yahoo and quit using this email as your recovery address.
  • Log in to the Yahoo Privacy Dashboard and select Continue delete my account > Yes, delete this account.
  • You have 30 days to reactivate your Yahoo account if you change your mind. Just log back in to use it again.

This article explains how to delete a Yahoo account from a web browser.

How to Delete a Yahoo Mail Account

You can shut down your entire Yahoo account and revoke access to your email address, remove all your emails, and prevent people from messaging you. This is possible through the Privacy Dashboard:

It's easy to migrate your Yahoo Mail data to Gmail if you plan to switch to Google's email service. Alternatively, maybe you just want to export your Yahoo Mail contacts so you can import them into a different email service. You must do these things before you cancel.

  1. Open Yahoo Mail and log in if asked.

    You can recover your forgotten Yahoo password if you're not sure what it is.

  2. Hover over your name at the top right of the page and select Manage your account from the menu.

    The Yahoo Mail menu showing the Manage your account link

    If you're paying for any Yahoo subscription services, cancel those now to avoid unexpected payments; open My Subscriptions to see if you have any active subscriptions.

  3. Click Privacy controls at the top.

    The Yahoo Mail account overview page showing the Privacy controls link

  4. Scroll to the very bottom of the Yahoo Privacy Dashboard page and select Delete My Account.

    The Delete My Account link on the Yahoo Privacy Dashboard

  5. Read the text on the page titled "Before continuing, please consider the following information." It details what you will lose when you delete your Yahoo Mail account. Press Continue delete my account.

    The Continue delete my account button on Yahoo's website

  6. Enter your email address once more into the field provided.

  7. Select Yes, delete this account.

    The final confirmation page for deleting a Yahoo account

In some cases, Yahoo won't remove everything for up to 180 days, but that depends largely on the country you signed up from. Data connected to paid Fantasy Sports products might be kept even longer.

How to Cancel a BT Yahoo Mail Premium Account

If you got your Yahoo Mail account with BT Group, you can't cancel your account using the Yahoo website. Instead, contact BT directly to have your Yahoo Mail Premium account deleted.

What Does It Mean to Delete a Yahoo Mail Account?

Deleting Yahoo Mail is only possible if you delete the whole Yahoo account. This means, of course, that your emails will get removed, but you'll also lose access to your My Yahoo settings, calendars, Yahoo Fantasy teams, Yahoo Finance portfolios, and any other data stored in Yahoo's services.

Although it used to be the case, you will not delete your Flickr account if you delete your Yahoo account. This is true, however, only if you've upgraded to the latest login system. If you haven't, or you're not sure, contact Flickr to ask about this.

Here are some important things to be aware of when it comes to deleting your Yahoo account:

  • What will happen to my Yahoo Mail email address? Your username and email address will be available for others to use in the future, so they might receive messages meant for you if senders still use your old email address.
  • Can I reactivate a closed Yahoo Mail account? Yes, you can reactivate your account even after you've marked it for deletion. To reopen a deleted Yahoo account, log in within 30 days of deleting it. You can do this through the regular Yahoo Mail web page. Once you've reactivated the account, you can start getting emails but you will not see messages that were sent to the account while it was closed.
  • What happens to emails sent to my address after I close my Yahoo Mail account? In the meantime (starting as soon as you close your account), senders trying to message your deleted Yahoo Mail account's address will receive a delivery failure message.

Once you close your Yahoo Mail account, anyone who tries to send a message to your email address will immediately receive a delivery failure message. Also, any online accounts that are using your Yahoo email as the recovery address will no longer be able to send you recovery information.

To avoid confusion and concern, tell your contacts you are about to close your Yahoo account — both from the email address you plan to use in the future (so they can easily reply to reach you) and from your Yahoo Mail account (to ensure delivery).

FAQ
  • How do you change your Yahoo Mail password?

    To change your password, log in to Yahoo Mail and select your profile image at the top right. Go to Manage your account > Security > Change password.

  • How do you block unwanted senders in Yahoo Mail?

    To block mail from unwanted senders, log in to Yahoo Mail and go to Settings > More Settings. In the Security & privacy section, select Add under Blocked addresses. Type the sender's address in the box and press Save.

  • How do you add a contact in Yahoo Mail?

    To automatically add someone as a contact when they email you, log in to Yahoo Mail and open Settings > More Settings. Select Contacts > Enable.

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