Choose account closure or selected cleanup
A personal Microsoft account can connect email, files, subscriptions, purchases and other services. Close it only if you intend to leave the account as a whole. A work or school identity belongs to a different administrative process; contact the organization responsible for it.
Removing a Windows user, signing out of an app or disconnecting a device is not proof that your online Microsoft account was closed.
Before you start
Save anything you want to keep using the Outlook and OneDrive guides. Open the saved records without relying on the account you plan to close. You can deliberately continue without an export.
Review paid subscriptions, balances, family responsibilities and shared files. Check whether a Windows device, recovery key, another service's sign-in or a current support case depends on this account. Set a working alternative before closing it, including for SEED if you sign in with Microsoft.
On a phone
- Open Microsoft's account-closure page in your browser and choose its Close account link.
- Sign in and complete Microsoft's verification.
- Check the account shown, then read and acknowledge the closure checklist.
- Choose the offered reopening window, give the requested reason and select Mark account for closure.
- Save the confirmation and the date before which you can reopen the account.
On a computer
Use the same official closure route. Inspect the account email before accepting the checklist. Microsoft currently offers a 30- or 60-day reopening window; choose deliberately and retain the exact deadline shown.
If you recently replaced all sign-in verification details, Microsoft may require a 60-day wait before allowing closure. That security delay is separate from the reopening period and from any privacy-rights response deadline.
Remove selected data while keeping the account
Open the Microsoft privacy dashboard to see available activity controls. For mail or files, use the relevant Outlook or OneDrive app and review the selected items.
Moving a file or message into a recycle bin is different from permanent deletion. Read the applicable bin/recovery controls and any organization-managed retention before continuing. Do not empty every bin merely because one unwanted record remains visible.
What happens next
The account is first marked for closure. If you want to reverse that choice, use Microsoft's reopening route within the period you selected and complete its identity checks. After the window passes, closure and data handling follow Microsoft's terms; a confirmation should not be interpreted as erasing every third-party copy.
Avoid signing back in simply to test the closure without reading the reopening instructions. Use your recorded deadline and confirmation to understand its stage.
If something goes wrong
The official closure page includes Microsoft's sign-in helper and support route. Use them if verification fails or you cannot access the account. For a particular retained data category, send a precise privacy request and keep any explanation of required retention. An administrator may need to handle work or school records.
Keep a record
Save the account, chosen reopening window, request date and confirmation. Track account closure separately from Outlook message cleanup, OneDrive file deletion or a privacy preference change.