How to back up and then delete your Google Account

Whether you want to close your Google Account privacy concerns or you are trying to reduce the number of internet accounts you have, the process takes some effort and time but can be done without much fuss.

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 lost access to your bank account because you forgot to change your email address in advance.

Below I will go through the backup of 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 the data linked to your Google Account with just a few clicks. Start by going to the Google Takeout site and logging in to the account you want to close.

Review the list of different services and apps associated with your Google Account, and uncheck the box next to anything you do not want a backup of. I suggest you have them all checked. It is better to have the data and not need it than to need the data and not have it. Take the time to go through section options like Google Photos and make sure all your photo albums are included.

Click Next step at the bottom of the list. The next section will ask how you want your data to be delivered. You can have Google automatically place the files in another cloud storage service (current choices are Dropbox, OneDrive and Box, in addition to Google Drive), or have Google send you a link to download the data when it’s ready.

Then select your export settings. Since you close your account, just stick to the default option or Export once. Select the type and size of files you want to receive.

Finally, click Make export and wait. It can take hours, or even days, according to Google to get all your information gathered 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 stored securely, it’s time to delete your account. Go to the Google Account website, sign in to the account you are closing and select Data and personalization option on the left side of the screen.

Find the section marked Download or delete your data and click Delete a service or your account. Then click Delete your account. You will need to log in to your account again.

Google will give you the ability to back up all your data, and show you a list of all the services you no longer have access to, including how much data is stored in each one. For example, if I delete my account, I will lose all 602 contacts I have saved in Google Contacts.

After double-checking that you have all your data, scroll to the bottom of the page and check the two boxes to confirm that you want to delete your account, then click Delete 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 only delete the data. We also have guides that guide you through deleting Facebook uses, Amazon account and Instagram account.