How to Close Your Windows Live Hotmail Account

Whether you are fed up with all the spam arriving at your Windows Live Hotmail account regularly, or whether you're temporarily off to Austria for a secret mission, Windows Live Hotmail does not care why it is that you want to close your account. But it may be one of the easier exercises on your way to Austria.

Close Your Windows Live Hotmail Account

To close your Windows Live Hotmail account:

• Go to the Close your account page.
• Click Close account.

Close Your Paid Windows Live Hotmail Account

If you pay for your Windows Live Hotmail account (so you can access it in Outlook, for example), make sure you end your subscription service before closing the Windows Live Hotmail account as above.

But Will They Keep My Data and My Emails?

If you close your Windows Live Hotmail account, all mail will be deleted and your account is marked inactive. This means that you can no longer send messages from it, and it won't accept any new mail either. Messages to your Windows Live Hotmail account then bounce back to the sender with an error message.

If your Windows Live Hotmail account is inactive for 120 days (about 4 months) it will be completely erased and your Windows Live Hotmail user name can be taken by somebody else. You can reactivate your Hotmail account at any time within those 120 days by signing in.

Will Windows Live Hotmail Ever Delete My Account Automatically?

A Windows Live Hotmail account will also be closed automatically if you don't use it.