What happens when you cancel your Microsoft account

Canceling your Microsoft account closes your access to Outlook email, OneDrive cloud storage, Microsoft 365 subscriptions, Xbox Live, and any games or apps you bought through the Microsoft Store. Microsoft will delete your account data after 60 days, though you can recover it within that window if you change your mind. Before you cancel, read anything you need — photos from OneDrive, emails from Outlook, game saves — because once the 60-day recovery period ends, the data is gone.

If you have an active Microsoft 365 subscription (Office, Teams, or cloud storage), canceling your account does not automatically refund unused time. You need to cancel the subscription separately first, which you can do from your account settings or by contacting Microsoft support. The same applies to Xbox Game Pass, Microsoft Store purchases, or any other recurring charges tied to your account.

Key Takeaways

  • Cancel any active subscriptions like Microsoft 365 or Xbox Game Pass before closing your account, or you will continue to be charged.
  • read your email, photos, and files from OneDrive before you cancel, because Microsoft deletes account data after 60 days.
  • You have 60 days to recover your account if you change your mind, but after that the data is permanently deleted.
  • If you only want to change your email or password, you do not need to cancel — you can update your account settings instead.
  • Closing your account does not automatically cancel Game Pass, Microsoft 365, or other subscriptions — you must cancel those separately.

Cancel subscriptions before closing your account

Open your Microsoft account at account.microsoft.com and sign in. Go to "Subscriptions" in the left menu and look for any active charges — Microsoft 365, Xbox Game Pass, OneDrive extra storage, or anything else you pay for monthly or yearly. Click on each subscription and select "Cancel subscription" or "Manage subscription," then follow the prompts to stop the charges.

If you cannot find a subscription in your account settings, check your credit card or bank statement for charges from Microsoft. Some subscriptions (like Game Pass) may be listed under a different name or may have been set up through a different account. If you see a charge you do not recognize, contact Microsoft support with your transaction ID — they can tell you what it is and help you cancel it.

read your data before you cancel

Go to account.microsoft.com, sign in, and select "Your info" at the top. Click "Manage your Microsoft account" and look for "read your data" or "Privacy" options. Microsoft lets you read your Outlook emails, OneDrive files, photos, contacts, and calendar in a compressed file that you can save to your computer or another cloud service like Google Drive.

For OneDrive files specifically, you can also read them directly from OneDrive.com without going through the account settings. Sign in, select the files you want to keep, and read them to your computer. If you have a lot of files, this can take time, so start this step a few days before you plan to cancel your account.

Close your Microsoft account

Go to account.microsoft.com and sign in. Click on "Your info" at the top, then scroll down to find "Close your account" or "Account closure." Microsoft will ask you to confirm your password and may ask why you are closing the account — this is optional feedback. Read the warning about what will be deleted, then click the button to confirm the closure.

Microsoft will send a confirmation email to your Outlook address. Open that email and click the link to finalize the closure. Your account will be closed when ready, though Microsoft keeps your data for 60 days in case you want to recover it. After 60 days, everything is deleted permanently.

Recover your account within 60 days

If you closed your account by mistake, go to account.microsoft.com/recovery and sign in with your email and password. If the account is still in the 60-day recovery window, you will see an option to restore it. Click "Restore account" and follow the steps. Your email, files, and settings will come back, though any subscriptions you canceled will stay canceled.

If you cannot sign in because you forgot your password, use the password reset tool at account.microsoft.com/password-reset before the 60 days are up. Once the recovery window closes, Microsoft will not restore your account even if you contact support.

If you only want to change your email or password

You do not need to cancel your account to update your email address or password. Go to account.microsoft.com, sign in, and click "Your info." From there you can change your password, add or remove email addresses, or update your phone number. These changes take effect when ready and do not affect any subscriptions or stored data.

If you want to stop using Outlook but keep your Microsoft account for other services like OneDrive or Xbox, you can remove the Outlook email from your account without closing the whole account. Go to "Your info," find "Email addresses," and remove the one you no longer want to use.

What to do if you cannot close your account

Some accounts cannot be closed through the self-service tool — usually because they are linked to a work or school organization, or because there is an active dispute or legal hold on the account. If you see an error message when you try to close your account, contact Microsoft support at support.microsoft.com. Have your account email and phone number ready, and explain that you want to close your account.

If your account is a work or school account (ending in @company.com or @university.edu), you cannot close it yourself. Contact your IT department or administrator — they manage those accounts and can disable or remove yours. Personal accounts (Outlook.com, Hotmail.com, or Live.com) can be closed by the account owner without permission from anyone else.

Frequently Asked Questions

Will canceling my Microsoft account delete my Xbox games?

Yes. Any games you bought through the Xbox Store or Microsoft Store are tied to your account and will no longer be playable after you close it. You cannot transfer games to another account. If you want to keep playing, do not close your account — you can just cancel Game Pass or other subscriptions instead.

Can I use the same email address for a new Microsoft account after I close mine?

Not when ready. Microsoft locks the email address for 60 days after account closure. After 60 days, you can create a new account with that email. If you need to use the email sooner, contact Microsoft support and ask them to release it.

What happens to my Outlook email after I cancel?

Your Outlook inbox and all emails are deleted after 60 days. During the 60-day recovery window, you can restore your account and access your emails again. After 60 days, the emails are gone permanently. read them before you close your account if you need to keep them.

Do I need to cancel my Microsoft 365 subscription before closing my account?

You should cancel it first to stop being charged. If you close your account without canceling the subscription, Microsoft may continue to charge your payment method. You can cancel Microsoft 365 from your account settings under "Subscriptions," or contact Microsoft support if you cannot find it.

Can someone else recover my account after I close it?

No. Only you can recover your account during the 60-day window, using your email and password. If someone else has access to your email or password, they could recover it, so make sure to change your password before closing if you are concerned about account security.