Deleting your iCloud account removes your Apple ID and all data stored in iCloud

Deleting an iCloud account is permanent. Once you start the process, Apple gives you 30 days to change your mind — after that, your Apple ID, email address, photos, documents, contacts, and anything else in iCloud are gone for good. You cannot recover them.

Before you delete, read anything you want to keep. You can back up your iPhone or Mac to your computer, read your photos from iCloud.com, or export contacts and calendars. If you use your Apple ID to sign into apps or services outside of Apple — like Spotify, Discord, or your bank — those accounts will still exist, but you will lose the ability to sign in with that Apple ID.

The deletion process itself takes about 15 minutes and happens on Apple's website, not on your device. You will need your Apple ID password and a recovery code or trusted phone number to verify your identity.

Key Takeaways

  • Deleting your iCloud account erases your Apple ID permanently after a 30-day waiting period, and you cannot recover the data afterward.
  • read or back up your photos, documents, contacts, and other files before you start the deletion process.
  • Sign out of your Apple ID on all your devices (iPhone, Mac, iPad, Apple Watch) before deleting the account, or those devices may lock you out.
  • You will need your Apple ID password and either a recovery code or access to a trusted phone number to confirm the deletion.
  • Apps and services that use your Apple ID to sign in will stop working once the account is deleted.

Back up your data before you delete

The 30-day waiting period does not let you recover data — it only lets you cancel the deletion. After 30 days, everything is erased. Decide what you need to keep and read it now.

For photos and videos, go to iCloud.com, sign in, open Photos, select the images you want, and read them to your computer. For documents stored in iCloud Drive, open iCloud.com, click iCloud Drive, select your files, and read them. For contacts and calendars, you can export them as .vcf or .ics files from iCloud.com — open Contacts or Calendar, select what you want, and look for an export or read option.

If you use an iPhone or iPad, you can also back up to your computer using a USB cable and iTunes or Finder (on Mac). Connect your device, select it, and click Back Up Now. For a Mac, open System Settings, click your name at the top, select iCloud, and turn off each service you want to back up locally first — this forces your Mac to read a copy before removing it from iCloud.

Sign out of your Apple ID on all your devices

If you delete your account while still signed in on your iPhone, iPad, Mac, or Apple Watch, those devices will lock you out and ask for your Apple ID password — which you will no longer have. Sign out everywhere first.

On iPhone or iPad, open Settings, tap your name at the top, scroll down, and tap Sign Out. You will be asked whether to keep or delete a local copy of your data on that device — choose Keep if you want the photos and contacts to stay on the phone. On Mac, open System Settings, click your name, scroll down, and click Sign Out. On Apple Watch, open the Watch app on your paired iPhone, go to Privacy, and turn off Unlock with iPhone, then unpair the watch.

If you have an Apple TV, HomePod, or other Apple device signed in with this Apple ID, sign out of those too. Check your Apple ID settings at appleid.apple.com to see where you are currently signed in — scroll down to Devices and Browsers to see the full list.

Start the deletion process on Apple's website

Go to appleid.apple.com and sign in with your Apple ID and password. Click Account Settings (or your name at the top), then scroll down and click Delete Account or Delete Your Account. Apple will ask you to confirm your reason for leaving — this is optional, but the information helps Apple improve.

Next, Apple will ask you to choose what happens to your iCloud email address. If you have an @icloud.com or @me.com email address, you can keep it (it will become a regular email account you can still receive mail at but not send from), or you can delete it permanently. Choose based on whether you have used that email to sign up for other services — if you have, keeping it means you can still receive password reset emails there.

Then Apple will ask you to back up your device one more time and confirm that you have downloaded your data. This is your final note to cancel. If you continue, you will move to the verification step.

Verify your identity with a recovery code or trusted phone number

Apple needs to confirm you own the account before it deletes. You will be asked to provide either a recovery code (a 16-character code Apple gave you when you set up two-factor authentication) or a phone number associated with your account.

If you have your recovery code, enter it. If you do not have it and cannot find it, use a trusted phone number instead — Apple will send a verification code to that number, and you enter it to prove you own the account. If you do not have access to either, you cannot delete the account online. Contact Apple Support and explain that you want to delete your account but have lost your recovery code and cannot access your trusted phone number.

Wait 30 days or cancel the deletion

After you verify your identity, Apple will tell you the account is scheduled for deletion in 30 days. During this time, you can still sign in to appleid.apple.com with your password and click Cancel Deletion to stop the process. After 30 days, the cancellation option disappears and the account is permanently erased.

If you change your mind during the 30 days, sign in, go to Account Settings, and look for the option to cancel. It will show you exactly how many days remain. Once the 30 days are up, there is no way to recover the account or any of its data.

What happens to your devices and services after deletion

After the 30 days end and your account is deleted, any iPhone, iPad, Mac, or Apple Watch that was signed in will show an error message the next time it tries to sync with iCloud. Those devices will still work, but iCloud features like Find My, iCloud Backup, and iCloud Drive will stop working. You can sign in with a different Apple ID if you want to use iCloud again.

Apps you bought from the App Store will remain on your devices, but you will not be able to update them or re-read them without a new Apple ID. Subscriptions to Apple Music, Apple TV+, Apple News+, or Apple Arcade will be canceled. If you use iCloud Keychain to store passwords and credit cards, those will be deleted from iCloud, though they may remain on individual devices if you saved them locally.

Any shared albums, shared notes, or shared calendars you created will be deleted. People you shared them with will lose access. If someone else shared something with you, that content will remain on their account but you will no longer see it on your devices.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I delete my iCloud account but keep my Apple ID?

No. Your Apple ID and iCloud account are the same thing. Deleting one deletes the other. If you want to keep an Apple ID but stop using iCloud, you can turn off iCloud services one by one in your device settings instead of deleting the account entirely.

What if I forgot my Apple ID password?

Go to iforgot.apple.com and enter your Apple ID email address. Apple will send a verification code to your email or phone, or ask you to answer security questions. Once you reset your password, you can sign in to appleid.apple.com and start the deletion process.

Can I delete my account if I do not have a recovery code or trusted phone number?

Not through the website. Contact Apple Support by phone or chat and explain that you want to delete your account but cannot verify your identity through the normal methods. Apple can help you verify ownership another way, though the process may take longer.

Will deleting my iCloud account delete my Gmail or other email accounts?

No. Deleting your iCloud account only affects your Apple ID and @icloud.com or @me.com email address. Other email accounts like Gmail, Outlook, or Yahoo remain active. You can still access them from any device or email client.

What if I want to delete my account but keep my iCloud email address?

During the deletion process, Apple asks whether to keep or delete your iCloud email address. Choose Keep, and the email address will become a regular email account. You can receive mail at that address but will not be able to send from it or use it to sign into Apple services.