How to change the default Google Account on Chrome

How to delete your Gmail account without losing any of your data

You can delete your Gmail account in the "Data & privacy" section of your Google settings.

Deleting your Gmail account won't delete your entire Google account, but will delete all the email you have saved.

If you want to save your email messages, you can download them before deleting your Gmail account.

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If you have a Gmail account that you don't want anymore, you might find yourself wanting to delete it. Deleting your Gmail account will erase all of the messages saved to it, and you won't be able to send or receive emails using it anymore.

But deleting your Gmail account isn't the same as deleting your entire Google account. This means that you'll still be able to use other Google apps like YouTube or Docs.

If you're certain you want to do it, here's how to delete a Gmail account using your PC or Mac computer — along with how to delete your other Google-linked accounts.

How to delete your Gmail account

Once you go through these steps, you'll lose all access to your Gmail account. There's no undoing this, so make sure that you really want to delete it before you do anything.

1. Open the Gmail account that you want to delete on your PC or Mac computer. You can use any internet browser.

2. Click on your profile icon in the top-right corner to open your account menu, and then click Manage your Google Account.

Head to your Google account's options page. Google; William Antonelli/Insider

3. In the left-hand sidebar, click the Data & privacy tab.

4. Scroll down to the Download or delete your data section, and then click Delete a Google service.

Gmail is a "Google service," which you'll delete from this menu. Google; William Antonelli/Insider

5. Enter your password to confirm that it's you.

6. Find the Gmail option and click the trashcan icon next to it.

Important: If you want to save the emails you've sent and received before deleting, click the Download your data option at the top of the page first. It'll take you to a page called "Google Takeout" where you can archive your Mail data.

7. Enter a new email address to connect your Google account to — it can't be another Gmail address — and click Send verification email.

Enter a non-Gmail email address. Google

8. Log into the email account you provided and open the email that Google just sent. Click on the link inside to finish the deletion process.

How to delete other Google services

Google runs all sorts of sites, like YouTube and Stadia.

If you want to delete your accounts on these sites, you can usually go through the same steps as above. When you reach the page with the trashcan icons, just click them instead of Gmail.

You can also delete your YouTube channel by going through the site itself. Check out our article on how to delete your YouTube account for more details.

And if you just want to delete your entire Google account at once, you can do that too — and just like Gmail, you can download all your data beforehand too. See our article on deleting your Google account for all the information.

Melanie Weir

Freelance author

William Antonelli

Editor & Staff Writer for Tech Reference

William Antonelli (he/she/they) is a writer, editor, and organizer based in New York City. As a founding member of the Reference team, he's helped grow Tech Reference from humble beginnings into a juggernaut that attracts over 20 million visits a month. Outside of Insider, his writing has appeared in publications like Polygon, The Outline, Kotaku, and more. He's also a go-to source for tech analysis on channels like Newsy, Cheddar, and NewsNation. You can find him on Twitter @DubsRewatcher, or reach him by email at wantonelli@insider.com. Read more Read less