If the love for Google has ended or you have an old account that you no longer need, here’s what you need to do to close your Google account.
How to Backup and Delete Google Account
Whether you want to close your Google account for privacy reasons or you are trying to reduce the number of internet accounts you have, the process takes some effort and time, but it can be done without too much hassle.
The key is to take the time to download a copy of all your data and double-check that none of your online accounts use the Gmail address you are about to close.
It would be a shame if you lose access to your bank account because you forgot to change your email address beforehand.
Below I will walk you through backing up your Google account data and then point you in the right direction to close your Google account.
Back up all your data before closing your account
Google’s Takeout service makes it easy to download all data linked to your Google account with just a few clicks. Start by going to the Google Takeout website and logging into the account you want to close.
Scroll through the list of various services and apps linked to your Google account and uncheck the box next to anything you don’t want to have a backup of.
I suggest leaving them all checked. It’s better to have the data and not need it than to need the data and not have it. Take the time to go through the options for sections like Google Photos and make sure all your photo albums are included.
ClickNext Step at the bottom of the list. The next section will ask you how you want your data to be delivered. You can have Google automatically put files into another cloud storage service (current options are Dropbox, OneDrive, and Box, plus Google Drive) or have Google email you a link to download the data once it’s ready.
Then, select your export preferences. Since you are closing your account, keep the default selection orExport once. Select the type and size of the files you want to receive.
Finally, clickCreate Export and wait. According to Google, it can take a few hours or even days to collect all your information and ready for download. You will receive an email when Google has finished preparing the files.
How to close your Google account
With a copy of your data securely stored, it’s time to delete your account. Go tothe Google account website, log into the account you are closing and select theData and personalization option on the left side of the screen.
Find the section titledDownload or delete your data and click Delete a service or your account. Then, clickDelete your account. You will need to log into your account again.
Google will give you the option to back up all your data and will show you a list of all the services you will no longer have access to, including the amount of data stored in each. For example, if I deleted my account, I would lose all 602 contacts I have saved in Google Contacts.
Once you’ve double-checked that you have all your details, scroll to the bottom of the page and check the two boxes to confirm you want to delete your account, then click theDelete Account button.
If you’d rather delete your entire Google account, but are more concerned about the amount of data the company stores about you,you can just delete the data.