Deleting a Hotmail account removes it from Microsoft's servers

When you delete a Hotmail account, Microsoft closes the email address permanently and removes your messages, contacts, and calendar data from their servers. The account cannot be recovered after 60 days. If you use the same Microsoft account to sign into other services — OneDrive, Xbox, Outlook.com, or Windows — deleting your email account will also sign you out of those services and you may lose access to files stored there.

Before you delete, read anything you need to keep. Microsoft gives you 60 days to change your mind and reactivate the account, but after that window closes, the deletion is final.

Key Takeaways

  • You must sign into your account and request deletion through the Microsoft account recovery page — there is no other official way to delete a Hotmail account.
  • Microsoft keeps your data for 60 days after deletion in case you change your mind; after 60 days the account and all its contents are permanently removed.
  • If you use the same Microsoft account for OneDrive, Xbox, Outlook, or Windows sign-in, deleting your email will affect access to those services too.
  • read your email, contacts, and calendar before you delete, because you cannot retrieve them afterward.
  • You can reactivate a deleted account within 60 days by signing in with your old email and password.

read your data before deletion

Go to account.microsoft.com and sign in with your Hotmail credentials. Click on "Data privacy" in the left menu, then select "read your data." Microsoft will prepare a file containing your emails, contacts, calendar events, and photos. This usually takes a few hours. You will receive an email with a link to read the file — save it to your computer or cloud storage before you proceed with deletion.

If you have important emails you want to keep in a readable format, you can also forward them to another email account before deleting. This is faster than waiting for the full data read if you only need a few messages.

The steps to delete your Hotmail account

Sign into your Microsoft account at account.microsoft.com. Click "Data privacy" in the left sidebar. Scroll down to "Delete your account" and click that option. Microsoft will ask you to confirm your password and may send a verification code to a recovery email or phone number on file — enter that code when prompted.

On the next page, you will see a list of what will be deleted: your email, contacts, calendar, OneDrive files, and any subscriptions tied to the account. Read this carefully. Check the box that says you understand the consequences, then click "Delete account." Microsoft will ask you to confirm one more time. After you confirm, the deletion process begins.

What happens to your email address after deletion

Your Hotmail address becomes inactive when ready and cannot receive new mail. Microsoft does not reassign deleted email addresses to other users for several years, so your address will not suddenly belong to someone else. However, if someone tries to send you a message at that address, they will receive a bounce-back notification saying the account no longer exists.

If you have automatic email forwarding set up on the account, it will stop working once the account is deleted. Any services that send notifications to your Hotmail address will fail to reach you.

Reactivating your account within 60 days

If you change your mind within 60 days of deletion, you can reactivate your account. Go to account.microsoft.com and sign in using your old Hotmail email address and password. Microsoft will recognize the account as deleted and offer you the option to restore it. Click "Restore account" and follow the prompts. Your emails, contacts, and calendar will be restored to the state they were in when you deleted the account.

After 60 days have passed, reactivation is no longer possible. The account and all its data are permanently erased from Microsoft's systems.

If you only want to stop using the account without deleting it

Deletion is permanent after 60 days, so consider whether you actually need to delete or just want to stop using the account. If you want to keep the option to return to it later, you can instead change the password to something you do not know, remove recovery email and phone number, and stop checking it. The account will sit inactive but will not be deleted.

Alternatively, you can set up an email forwarding rule before deleting, so messages sent to your Hotmail address go to a new email account you are using instead. This keeps the address from bouncing back to senders, though the account itself will still be deleted after 60 days if you proceed.

What to do with services linked to your Microsoft account

Before you delete, check what else is tied to your Microsoft account. If you use the same account to sign into Windows, OneDrive, Xbox, or Outlook.com, deleting your email account will sign you out of all of them. You may lose access to files stored in OneDrive, game progress on Xbox, or the ability to sign into Windows with that account.

If you want to keep using those services, create a new Microsoft account first and transfer what you need. For OneDrive files, read them or move them to a new account. For Xbox, you can link a different Microsoft account to your console. For Windows, you can create a local account or add a different Microsoft account as an administrator before deleting the old one.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can someone else use my Hotmail address after I delete it?

No. Microsoft does not reassign deleted email addresses to new users for several years. Your address will remain inactive and unavailable to others for a long time after deletion.

What if I forgot my password and cannot sign in to delete the account?

Go to account.microsoft.com and click "Can't access your account." Follow the recovery steps to regain access using a recovery email or phone number. Once you are signed in, you can proceed with deletion. If you cannot recover the account, you may need to contact Microsoft Support.

Will deleting my Hotmail account delete my OneDrive files?

Yes. Files stored in OneDrive tied to that Microsoft account will be deleted along with the email account. read or move important files to a new account before you delete.

Can I delete just the email without deleting the entire Microsoft account?

No. Deleting a Hotmail account deletes the entire Microsoft account associated with it. If you want to keep using OneDrive, Xbox, or Windows with that account, do not delete it.

How long do I have to change my mind after deleting?

You have 60 days to reactivate a deleted account by signing in with your old email and password. After 60 days, the account cannot be recovered and all data is permanently removed.