How do I delete a Gmail account?

GMAIL is by far the most popular email service on the internet – with a staggering 1.5 billion users.

While Google will only want that number to go up, the process of deleting an account is actually quite quick and easy.

You can delete your Gmail email account without having to delete your whole Google account Credit: Getty Images

Can you delete a Gmail email address?

It is possible to remove your Gmail address and emails without deleting your entire Google account, which might include services like YouTube and Hangouts.

Gmail will ask that you provide an alternative email address to use in the future to continue to access the other services on your Google account.

After completing the process your address and emails will have been deleted, which means you can’t use the account for anything, including to send or receive email.

However, you can download and archive the data from your Gmail account before you delete it, so you can still access this after your account is gone.

Your Google account will ask you for an alternative email address to continue accessing other services such as YouTube and HangoutsCredit: Alamy

How do I delete a Gmail account off my phone?

1. Before deleting your Gmail account, you might want to save your data, which could include important things you want to keep such as emails or contact details. [If you don’t want to save anything, skip to point eight.]

2. Begin the process of archiving data by visiting takeout.google.com/.

3. There you will be able to see a list of services which you can archive data from, such as Google Drive and Hangouts.

4. Each one will have a tick box next to it. You should tick the Gmail box, then click next.

5. You must then decide how you want to receive the archived data – options include getting a download link via email or receiving it on Dropbox.

You may want to save and archive your emails and contacts before you delete your Gmail account, so you can still access these after it is goneCredit: Alamy

6. You must also select the file format, such as zip or tgz, and whether you want to export the archive all at once or in stages.

7. When your archive is created, Google will email you a link to its location.

8. Once you have done that, you can begin the process of deleting Gmail by opening the app on your phone.

9. Next tap the icon in the top right of the screen, which displays your profile picture or initial.

10. On the next page just below your email address tap the icon that reads Data and Personalisation.

11. Scroll down to where it says download, delete, or make a plan for your data and tap delete a service or your account then Delete a Google Service.

12. You may now be asked to enter your login details before moving to a page where your Google services such as YouTube and Google Pay are listed.

13. Complete the process of deleting your Gmail account by tapping the dustbin icon next to Gmail.

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This post first appeared on Thesun.co.uk