How to delete your Google account forever

Deleting your Google account is surprisingly simple, but the repercussions aren’t, as it will wipe all the data associated with your Google account, including emails, saved locations, and files. You may want to delete all your data from a single Google service instead for a more targeted approach. If you want to get an idea of what data Google has on you, we recommend using the My Activity feature for your account.

We’ll show you how to delete your Google account on any device and explain the implications of deleting it. We’ll also provide some excellent alternatives to Google’s apps and services, whether you use an Android phone, Windows PC, or one of the best budget-friendly Chromebooks.

What to consider before deleting your Google account

When you delete your entire Google account, you lose access to the apps, subscriptions, services, and data linked to your account. Here are the consequences of deleting your Google account:

• You lose access to data saved on Google services like Google Drive, Gmail, YouTube, Google Contacts, and Google Photos.
• You lose your online history, including your Google Maps travel history, Google Search history, and YouTube watch history.
• You can’t recover any accounts created on third-party websites using your Google account.
• You lose access to the Play Store if you use an Android smartphone.
• You can’t use your Chromebook effectively without a Google account. You can use a guest account, but it deletes all the files, cookies, website data, and browsing activity once you log off your session.
• Your current Google username is lost forever, and you can’t recreate your Google account with the same username.

When you delete a Google account, you lose all the data associated with that account. So, if you’re ready to wave goodbye to Google, you could lose a lot. But you don’t have to lose your data. Google lets you download your account data before clearing your data. We recommend following these steps to download your data before deleting your Google account forever.

Use Google Takeout to download data before deleting your Google account

Launched in 2011, Google Takeout is a platform that lets you download a copy of the data Google has on you. The platform makes it easy to export and download data from all Google apps and services in one go.

The benefit of using Google Takeout is that instead of exporting data separately from multiple Google apps, you can use Google Takeout to get all your data in one place. You can download your contacts, photos, notes, Google Maps history, emails, and everything else that Google has on you.

1. Open the Google Takeout settings page by going to takeout.google.com. This opens a list of all the Google services you used.
2. Everything is automatically selected by default, so deselect the information you don’t want to download.

   

3. Click the Next Step button.

   

4. Select your data’s delivery method. You can get a download link via email or save it to cloud services like Drive, OneDrive, Box, or Dropbox.
5. Choose the frequency, file type, and size, though the default settings should work fine.

   

6. Click the Create export button to proceed.

   

Depending on the download size, Google might take a while before sending you the download link. Once you receive the link, you have one week to download your data.

Use Google Takeout on your phone

You can use the official Google Takeout tool on Android or iPhone. You don’t need to download an app from the Play Store as it’s included in the Google Search app. Here’s how to export your data with this tool:

1. Open the Google app on your phone and tap the account picture at the top.
2. Select Manage your Google Account.
3. Select Data and privacy and tap Download your data. It opens Google Takeout on the mobile web.

   

   

4. Select the data you want to include and tap Next step.
5. Choose the file type, frequency, and destination.
6. Tap Create export to start the backup process.

   

   

How to delete your Google account using your desktop browser

With everything backed up, it’s time to take the final step: deleting your Google account for good. Here is a step-by-step guide with screenshots that show how to delete your Google account.

1. Visit the Google account settings page by going to accounts.google.com.
2. Select the Data & privacy option and scroll to the More options menu.
3. Click the Delete your Google Account option.
4. Authenticate using your Google account password.

   

5. Accept the two acknowledgments at the end of the page.
6. Click the Delete Account button to delete your Google account forever.

   

How to delete your Google account on Android

You can use the default Google app on Android to delete the account. Keep the implications of deleting a Google account on your Android phone in mind. You lose access to the Play Store. If you have several Google accounts on Android, change the default one on your phone before following the steps below.

1. Open the Google app.
2. Tap your profile picture in the upper-right corner.
3. Select Manage your Google Account.
4. Slide to Data and privacy.
5. Scroll to Delete your Google Account.
6. Enter your Google account password for verification.
7. Follow the on-screen instructions to delete your Google account.

   

   

How to delete your Google account on iPhone or iPad

If you are settled in the Apple ecosystem and want to get rid of Google completely, use the steps below to delete your Google account.

1. Download the Google app from the App Store.
2. Open it and sign in with your Google account details.
3. Tap your account picture and select Manage your Google Account.
4. Select Data and privacy.
5. Select Delete your Google Account.
6. Authenticate your account and check the instructions to complete the job.

   

   

Delete individual Google services: a less drastic alternative

Google allows users to delete individual services. It’s a less drastic alternative to deleting all the data associated with your Google account. For example, you can keep your Gmail account active, but delete services like YouTube, Google Maps, and more.

1. Open the Google account settings page by going to accounts.google.com.
2. Select the Data & privacy option and scroll down to find the Download or delete your data option.
3. Click the Delete a Google service option and authenticate with your password.

   

4. Click the trash icon next to a Google service to delete it.

   

How to delete individual Google services on Android or iPhone

You can delete individual Google services on mobile. The steps are mostly identical on both platforms.

1. Open the Manage your Google Account menu in the Google app (check the steps above).
2. Move to Data and privacy and select Delete a Google service.
3. You can check the number of videos uploaded to YouTube, Gmail conversations, Google Pay, and other data.

   

   

4. Tap the trash icon beside a service you want to delete.
5. Confirm your decision from the pop-up menu.

   

How long it takes Google to delete your account

When you delete your Google account, all the front-facing data is immediately deleted, and you can no longer access your account. However, your data remains on Google’s servers. Google has not given clear documentation on how long your data remains on its server.

Google’s Privacy & Terms for deleted data mentions that it can take up to two months to delete personal data from its server, as Google gives you some time to recover your deleted data. But this is mentioned in the context of deleting data from your Google account and not your account, so the actual time may vary.

Can you recover your deleted Google account?

Google doesn’t immediately delete your data. It takes a few weeks before the data is completely gone. If you deleted your Google account by mistake, recover it using Google’s account recovery tool.

Google has not given a strict timeline. So, if you want to recover your data, the best bet is to do it within two weeks, according to Google’s help center.

To recover your account, visit the Account Recovery page and log in with your credentials. If you see a message that reads, “This account was deleted and is no longer recoverable,” you can’t recover your account. You might be asked to answer some security questions if you can log in. Follow the on-screen process to recover your account.

Replace Google apps with equally good or better alternatives

Google has a vast portfolio of productivity and entertainment apps. If you want to remove Google from your life, use alternatives for these apps. We have some excellent options to help you delete Google apps from your life.

Replace Google Chrome with Mozilla Firefox

Source: Mozilla

Google Chrome is the most used browser in the world, and if you used it before deleting your Google account data, it’s time to let it go. When you want to replace Google Chrome, we don’t recommend replacing it with a browser like Microsoft Edge or Vivaldi because those browsers also use the Chromium engine.

The best replacement for Google Chrome is Mozilla Firefox. It uses its Quantum browser engine, which is super fast. It also has a huge add-on library that rivals the Google Chrome extension library. Mozilla Firefox is one of the best browsers on Android, Windows, and other platforms you might use. iOS users can use the default Safari app for browsing the web on their iPhone, iPad, and Mac devices.

Switch from Google Maps to open source alternatives

Google Maps is the Google app that is the hardest to replace as there are no comparable alternatives in the Android world. If you use an iPhone, Apple Maps has improved by leaps and bounds and can be used, especially in developed countries, where Apple products are widely used. If you use an Android, choose one of the open source alternatives for Google Maps. Alternatively, use Citymapper in supported cities.

Switch from Gmail to Proton Mail

Most of us use Gmail as our email account provider because it’s free and doesn’t require us to set up our own domain. Proton Mail is a good option if you want to delete Gmail from your life. The best thing about Proton Mail is that your emails are encrypted, so it’s safer than Google’s offering. Other options to replace your Gmail address that you might want to consider are Zoho Mail and Microsoft Outlook.

Source:ProtonMail

Use Google Play Store alternatives

The biggest drawback of deleting your Google account as an Android user is losing access to the Play Store. While you can sideload any app you want, the process is not as straightforward and may involve some risks.

The good news is that you can use Play Store alternatives to install most of the popular apps. The Amazon Appstore and APK Mirror are the best options for installing apps outside the Play Store. We recommend reading our installing Android apps without the Google Play Store guide to learn more.

If you prefer open source apps, we recommend using the F-Droid store. F-Droid is the Play Store for open source apps, allowing you to install and automatically update apps. If you feel adventurous, you can install a custom ROM with no Google apps or services on your Android device.

Replace Google Search with DuckDuckGo

DuckDuckGo is one of the most popular and widely used privacy-focused search engines. If you want a private search experience, use DuckDuckGo instead of Google Search. On occasions, if you are not happy with its search results, you can use its built-in feature to run your query on Google Search without sharing your private data.

We also recommend trying out the new AI-powered Bing search engine, which uses ChatGPT as its core. The new AI search engine is sure to disrupt traditional search engines, as it brings a more conversational approach to searching, allowing users to ask questions and refine answers by providing different prompts. If you were hoping to ditch Google Search, we would say this is the best time to do it.

Other Google apps alternatives

Similar to the above examples, you can find alternatives to other Google apps. For example, you can replace Google Drive with OneDrive or create your own Google Drive alternative using the Synology NAS system. You can use WhatsApp instead of Google Messages, Zoom instead of Google Meet, and so on. A simple search on the web can help you locate a worthy alternative for the Google app you use.

Explore Microsoft’s productivity apps

Microsoft has an answer to most Google apps. You can replace Gboard with SwitfyKey, Google Keep with OneNote, Google Form with Microsoft Form, Google Spaces with Teams, and so on. The company’s Office apps are class-leading in the productivity suite market. You can also ditch Google Workspace plans in favor of Microsoft 365. Read our dedicated post to learn the differences between Google Workspace Individual and Microsoft 365 for Home.

Permanently delete your Google account and associated data

As you can see, deleting your Google account can cause a lot of headaches if you don’t prepare properly. We recommend taking the time to set up alternative accounts, and then leaving your Google account active but unused for a few months. This method will give you plenty of time to reverse your decision or recover valuable data.

A less extreme method is to take these steps to enhance privacy on Android. While this will be nowhere near as effective as deleting your Google account, it won’t cut you off from your data.