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 recommendusing the My Activity featurefor 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 thebest budget-friendly Chromebooks.
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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:
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 may 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.
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 could 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:
Before deleting your account, reconfigure all accounts on third-party websites you created using the Google account you are deleting. You can see a full list by following these steps:
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.
Once you delete your Google account, you have 20 days to recover your account. You can recover your account by heading to theAccount recoverypage.
How to delete your Google account on Android
you’re able to 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 oneon your phone before following the steps below.
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.
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.
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.
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 & Termsfor 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.
If it’s been a while since you deleted your account, you may not be able to recover the data in your account.
To recover your account,visit the Account Recovery pageand 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
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 thebest 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 theopen source alternatives for Google Maps. Alternatively,use Citymapperin 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 Mailis 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 areZoho Mailand Microsoft Outlook.
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 it’s possible to sideload any app you want, the process is not as straightforward and may involve some risks.
The good news is that you may use Play Store alternatives to install most of the popular apps. TheAmazon AppstoreandAPK Mirrorare the best options for installing apps outside the Play Store. We recommend reading ourinstalling Android apps without the Google Play Storeguide to learn more.
If you prefer open source apps, we recommend using theF-Droidstore. F-Droid is the Play Store for open source apps, allowing you to install and automatically update apps. If you feel adventurous, you caninstall a custom ROM with no Google appsor 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, useDuckDuckGoinstead 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 newAI-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, it’s possible to find alternatives to other Google apps. For example, you can replace Google Drive with OneDrive or create your ownGoogle 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 thedifferences between Google Workspace Individual and Microsoft 365 for Home.
Permanently delete your Google account and associated data
As you’re able to 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 toenhance 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.
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