Google‘s services are ubiquitous, but you might want to delete them for various reasons. Here’s how to do so on desktop and mobile devices.
Deleting your Google account will delete all associated data, such as Gmail, Drive, Photos, Calendar, and Chrome bookmarks (if synced). Furthermore, you’ll lose access to YouTube and Google Play subscriptions.
How to do it
If you no longer require your Google account, deleting it is simple. Ensure that all your photos, files, and purchases have been backed up before proceeding with this action.
Deleting your Google account will grant you access to many associated services, such as Gmail, Drive, YouTube, and the Play Store. Furthermore, any content purchased through these channels and saved bookmarks in Chrome will be gone too.
You can always back up your data before deleting it to be safe for a while. That way, if an emergency arises later on, you can quickly restore it.
To delete your Google account, you must provide a secondary email address and confirm its accuracy. Afterward, an automated verification email will be sent to the new address; open it and follow its instructions – however, note that doing so means losing all of your Google data. This process is quick and painless but does result in losing access to all your saved searches and contacts.
What you’ll lose
Deleting your Google account will delete all content in your email, Drive, Calendar, and Photos accounts and any data stored on third-party websites using Gmail or Google credentials. Furthermore, you’ll lose any YouTube and Google Play subscriptions, bookmarks, or browsing history in Chrome.
Google collects enormous data about you, including searches, web activity, videos watched, and more. Not only is this used to personalize search results for you, but it also improves the AI behind things like Google Assistant.
Google is making assessing how much personal information is being collected simpler. You can view it all in one place if desired and then decide whether or not you would like to delete some of it.
How long you’ll have to wait
When deleting your Google account, knowing how long it will take for all associated data to be cleared from Google’s servers is essential. Depending on your loss, this could take days, weeks, or months.
Google suggests a recovery period of 20 to 25 days is likely, though you cannot count on this if you accidentally deleted your account.
Deleting your Google account can be beneficial, but you must ensure you do it correctly. Otherwise, you could lose photos and videos and contacts gone forever. To prevent this from happening, backup all data and set up an alternate email address for signing in to products like Drive or YouTube. For added peace of mind, consider using services that can clone your Gmail account too.
How to restore your account
If you accidentally delete your account, were hacked, or changed your mind about restoring it, you can use Google’s password assistance page within a few weeks. Unfortunately, there’s a 20-day time limit, after which all backups will be permanently erased.
Verifying that your account belongs to you requires answering some questions and providing a contact email address or phone number. Answer all these questions accurately as possible, making sure the provided email address or phone number is valid and reachable.
Once you’ve answered the initial set of questions, Google will require that you click a link to confirm that your account belongs to you. If you are unable to do so, they won’t be able to recover your password.
