How to Delete or Remove an Account in Outlook (2026 Guide)
“Delete my Outlook account” means two completely different things, and getting them mixed up is how people lose email they meant to keep. Most of the time you just want to remove an email account from the Outlook app so it stops syncing on a device — your mailbox stays intact on the server. Far less often, you want to permanently close your Microsoft (Outlook.com) account, which erases the mailbox itself.
This guide covers both, in every version of Outlook, so you delete exactly what you intend to.
First: Removing vs. Closing
Read this before you touch any settings.
| What you want | What to do | What happens to your email |
|---|---|---|
| Stop an account syncing on this computer/phone | Remove it from the Outlook app | Mailbox stays on the server; sign back in anytime |
| Get a work account off your personal laptop | Remove it from the Outlook app | Nothing deleted on the server side |
| Permanently delete an Outlook.com mailbox | Close the Microsoft account at account.microsoft.com | Mailbox, contacts, and OneDrive are deleted after 60 days |
Removing an account from the app is reversible and harmless — you can re-add it in two minutes. Closing a Microsoft account is permanent and takes everything with it (Outlook.com email, OneDrive files, Xbox, Skype, Microsoft 365 consumer subscriptions). When in doubt, you want to remove, not close.
Tip: Before removing or closing anything, back up the emails you want to keep. Once an account is gone from the app, its offline cache goes with it; once a Microsoft account is closed, the mailbox can’t be recovered after the waiting period.
1. Remove an Account in New Outlook for Windows / Outlook on the Web
The new Outlook for Windows and Outlook on the web (outlook.office.com) share the same settings, so the steps are identical.
- Click the Settings gear in the top-right corner.
- Go to Accounts > Email accounts.
- Find the account you want to remove and click Manage next to it.
- Click Remove.
- Confirm in the dialog that appears.
The account is disconnected from this Outlook profile. New Outlook stores its mail in a local cache rather than a .pst file, so removing the account clears that cache from the app — but the mailbox itself stays on the server. If it’s an Outlook.com, Gmail, or work account, you can re-add it later and everything re-syncs.
Note: New Outlook treats the primary account that you signed into Windows or Outlook with differently. If “Remove” is greyed out, see Troubleshooting below — you usually have to add or switch to another account first.
2. Remove an Account in Classic Outlook for Windows
Classic Outlook (the version with the full ribbon) uses the older Account Settings dialog.
- Click File in the top-left.
- Click Account Settings > Account Settings (yes, the same words twice — it’s a button with a dropdown).
- On the Email tab, click the account you want to delete.
- Click Remove.
- Outlook warns that removing the account also removes its offline cached content. Click Yes to confirm.
In classic Outlook, each account is backed by an .ost (cached Exchange/IMAP) or .pst (POP) data file. Removing the account detaches that data file from your profile. For an Exchange or IMAP account the .ost is just a local copy of server data, so nothing is lost on the server. For a POP account, the .pst may be the only copy of those messages — export or copy it first.
Tip: To find where the data file lives before you remove anything, go to File > Account Settings > Data Files, click the account, and choose Open File Location.
3. Remove an Account in Outlook on Mobile (iOS / Android)
- Open the Outlook app and tap your profile icon (top-left).
- Tap the Settings gear at the bottom of the panel.
- Under Mail Accounts, tap the account you want to remove.
- Tap Delete Account.
- Choose Delete from this device.
This only signs the account out of the phone app — the mailbox is untouched. (If you also see “Reset account,” that re-syncs without deleting; only “Delete Account” removes it.)
4. Permanently Close a Microsoft / Outlook.com Account
This is the destructive one. Use it only if you genuinely want the Outlook.com mailbox and the entire Microsoft account gone — not just disconnected from a device.
- Go to account.microsoft.com and sign in with the account you want to close.
- Before you continue, save anything you want to keep: download OneDrive files, back up your emails, and note any subscriptions tied to the account.
- Navigate to Your info (or go directly to the “Close your account” page Microsoft links from Security / Account).
- Microsoft walks you through a checklist — confirming you’ve spent any account balance, cancelled subscriptions, and saved your data.
- Tick each item, choose a reason, and click Mark account for closure.
What happens after you close it
- The account enters a 60-day waiting period (Microsoft’s standard window). During those 60 days you can sign back in to reactivate it — nothing is deleted yet.
- After 60 days, the account and its data are permanently deleted: Outlook.com email and contacts, OneDrive files, Skype, Xbox/Microsoft Store balance and purchases, and any consumer Microsoft 365 subscription.
- The email address is eventually released and can’t be reused to recover old mail.
Note: You cannot close a work or school (Microsoft 365 organizational) account yourself — those are managed by your company’s admin. Ask your IT administrator to deactivate or delete the mailbox.
Quick Reference
| Goal | Where | Path |
|---|---|---|
| Remove account — new Outlook / web | Settings gear | Accounts > Email accounts > Manage > Remove |
| Remove account — classic Outlook | Ribbon | File > Account Settings > Account Settings > select > Remove |
| Remove account — mobile | Profile icon | Settings > tap account > Delete Account > Delete from this device |
| Close Microsoft account (permanent) | Browser | account.microsoft.com > Your info > close account (60-day wait) |
Troubleshooting
Remove is greyed out
The account you’re trying to remove is the primary or only account in the Outlook profile, so the app won’t let you delete it (it needs at least one account to function). Fixes:
- Add another account first (Settings > Accounts > Email accounts > Add account), then remove the original.
- In classic Outlook, you can’t remove the account that contains the default data file. Go to File > Account Settings > Data Files, set a different file as default, then return to the Email tab and remove the account.
- To wipe the whole profile instead, close Outlook and use the Mail applet in Windows Control Panel > Show Profiles to delete the profile.
The account keeps coming back after I remove it
- The account is also signed into Windows itself (Settings > Accounts > Email & accounts, or Access work or school). Outlook auto-adds accounts that Windows knows about. Remove it there too.
- New Outlook syncs your account list to the Microsoft cloud — if it’s added on another device, it can reappear. Remove it from each device.
- A mobile device management (MDM) or work policy is re-provisioning the account. Your IT admin controls this; you can’t remove a policy-pushed account locally.
I removed the account but my emails are gone
For POP accounts, mail downloaded to the .pst is local — removing the account detaches that file. The messages aren’t deleted from disk; re-open the .pst via File > Open & Export > Open Outlook Data File. For IMAP/Exchange/Outlook.com, the mail lives on the server and re-syncs when you re-add the account.
I closed my Microsoft account by mistake
If it’s still inside the 60-day window, just sign back in at account.microsoft.com — signing in reactivates the account and cancels the closure. After 60 days, it’s gone for good.
Managing accounts so you never have to clean them up
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More on Outlook: How to add an email account to Outlook · How to back up Outlook emails · How to recover deleted emails in Outlook · How to clean up your inbox in Outlook · How to change your display name in Outlook · How to add a signature in Outlook · How to create rules in Outlook
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