How to delete your Google account and data

Deleting your Google account might seem impossible, especially if you’re entrenched in its ecosystem. However, if you decide to leave Google behind, the process is simple and easy to follow. Kudos to Google for allowing users to remove themselves from its services.

You can either delete your entire Google account in one go or delete specific Google services like Gmail and Google Drive and then move away from its other services. Whether you use an Android, iPhone, Windows, Mac, or a top Chromebook, vanishing from Google servers doesn’t take more than a few minutes.

Deleting your Google account is only part of the solution. You also need to find apps and services to replace Google services. We listed some of the apps and services you can use instead of Google’s offerings to make your life easier. But before you proceed with this guide and delete your Google account, learn the implications of your steps.

When you delete your entire Google account, you lose access to the apps, subscriptions, services, and data linked to your account. Here are some of the things that are impacted by 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. We recommend following these steps to download your data before deleting your Google account forever.

How to delete your Google account & data 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 shows 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. Swipe down from the home screen to access 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.

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.