How to Delete Your Yahoo Mail Account Permanently

This action revokes access to your email address but doesn't stop automatic charges associated with the account

What to Know

  • From the Yahoo Delete My Account page, enter your username and follow prompts to deactivate your account.
  • To close a Yahoo Mail Premium account with British Telecommunications (BT), contact BT directly.
  • Closing your Yahoo account doesn't cancel automatic charges associated with your account.

This article explains how to delete a Yahoo email account. The instructions apply to the web browser version of Yahoo Mail.

How to Delete Your Yahoo Mail Account

You can shut down your entire Yahoo Mail account and revoke access to your email address, remove all your emails, and prevent people from messaging you.

  1. Open the Yahoo Delete User page and enter your username. Click Next.

    If you don't see an option to cancel your account, and think you might have a BT Yahoo Mail account instead, see below.

    You can recover your forgotten Yahoo Email password if you're not sure what it is.

  2. Enter your password. If you have an Account Key set up, Yahoo will send a message to your mobile phone to authenticate you.

    Screen showing the Check iPhone message when loging in to Yahoo with an Account Key
  3. Read the text on the page titled "Before continuing, please consider the following information." It details what you will lose when you delete your Yahoo Mail account. Press Continue delete my account.

    Screenshot of Yahoo account deletion warning page, with Continue delete my account highlighted
  4. Enter your email address once more into the field provided.

  5. Select Yes, terminate this account.

    You'll know it worked if you see a message that reads "Your account has been deactivated and scheduled for deletion."

    Screenshot of Yahoo Privacy Dashboard highlightint Enter your email address and Yes, terminate this account
  6. Press Got it to return to Yahoo's homepage.

In some cases, Yahoo won't actually remove everything for up to 180 days, but that depends largely on the country you signed up from. Data connected to a Yahoo Finance Premium account might be kept for three calendar years.

What Does It Mean to Delete a Yahoo Mail Account?

Deleting a Yahoo Mail account means not only that your emails will be removed and you'll lose access to your account, but you'll also no longer have access to your My Yahoo settings, your Flickr account and photos, and other data stored in Yahoo's services.

Once you close your Yahoo Mail account, anyone who tries to send a message to the email address will immediately receive a delivery failure message. To avoid confusion and concern, be sure you tell your friends and contacts that you are about to close your Yahoo Mail account — both from the email address you plan to use in the future (so they can easily reply to reach you) and from your Yahoo Mail address (to make sure the message is received).

If you're paying for any Yahoo subscription services, remember to cancel these subscriptions first to avoid unexpected payments. The same is true if you have a Flickr Pro membership.

How to Cancel a BT Yahoo Mail Premium Account

If you got your Yahoo Mail account with British Telecommunications (BT), you cannot cancel the service using the Yahoo Mail account termination page. You can, however, contact BT directly to have your Yahoo Mail Premium account deleted.

Things to Remember

Here are some important things to be aware of when it comes to deleting your Yahoo account:

  • What Will Happen to My Yahoo Mail User Name and Email Address? Your username and email address will be available for others to use in the future, so they might receive messages meant for you if senders still use your old email address.
  • Can I Reactivate a Closed Yahoo Mail Account? Yes, you can reactivate your account even after you've marked it for deletion. To reopen a deleted Yahoo Mail account, just log on to the account within 30 days after deleting it. You can do this through the regular Yahoo Mail web page. Once you've reactivated the account, you can start getting emails once again, but know that you will not be able to see any emails that were sent to the account while it was closed.
  • What Happens to Emails Sent to My Address After I Close My Yahoo Mail Account? In the meantime (starting as soon as you close your account), senders trying to message your deleted Yahoo Mail account's address will receive a delivery failure message.

The message might say something like this:

SMTP 554 delivery error: dd Sorry your message to ***@yahoo.com cannot be delivered. This account has been disabled or discontinued [#102]. - mta***.mail.***.yahoo.com

However, this message will no longer be seen if you reactivate your account as described above.

FAQ
  • How do you change your Yahoo Mail password?

    To change your password, log in to Yahoo Mail and go to Account Info. In the Account security section, select Change Password and follow the prompts.

  • How do you block unwanted senders in Yahoo Mail?

    To block mail from unwanted senders, log in to Yahoo Mail and go to Settings. In the Security & Privacy section, find Blocked Addresses and select Add. Type the sender’s address.

  • How do you add a contact in Yahoo Mail?

    To automatically add someone as a contact when they email you, log in to Yahoo Mail and open Settings. Select Contacts > Enable.

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