How to Delete Your Yahoo! Account

If you haven’t heard of the 2013 Yahoo! data breach, it might become a reason for you to know how to delete your Yahoo! account. It’s considered the biggest data breach in history, with 3 billion compromised accounts. In perspective, all Yahoo! accounts were affected in a data breach that was not disclosed until four years later.

Whatever reason there may be, you can easily delete Yahoo! account in a few simple steps. Read on to find more.

Should You Delete Yahoo! Account?

With two major data breaches writing its reputation on search results, Yahoo! has seen better days. It was once a juggernaut of the internet, serving as the second-biggest web search engine in volume and one of the three biggest email providers.

Yahoo! also built a strong presence on the web by delivering news on politics, finance, entertainment, and more. It still functions on that front, but its email service now serves as a reminder of what was.

There is no denying the impact the two data breaches have had on Yahoo!’s credibility. The first reported Yahoo data breach occurred in 2014 and resulted in more than 500 million compromised Yahoo accounts. It was followed up by another revelation that as much as 3 billion Yahoo accounts were compromised in a data breach in 2013.

This resulted in criticism over Yahoo! for not disclosing the breach on time. And as for not handling customer data that involved credit card information, Yahoo! Agreed to pay $117.5 million in settlement to affected customers.

What You Lose By Deleting Yahoo! Account

Yahoo! is more than an email service; it also owns other platforms such as Flickr and any other sub-services that the Yahoo! account grants you.

If you have been using Yahoo! since the early days, you might have to think hard to pull the trigger on deleting Yahoo! account. You will lose access to all the emails and contacts accumulated over the years.

How to Delete Yahoo Account

If you have decided to delete Yahoo! account, you need to backup anything important from the account. It could be emails, attachments, or Flickr photos. Make sure you have everything accounted for and backed up before deleting your Yahoo! account.

• Go to the Yahoo account termination page and enter your username and click on “Next.”

• Next, on the account termination page, read all the information and then click on “Continue the process of deleting your account.”
• You will be asked to confirm your identity by entering in your Yahoo password. Click “Yes, delete this account.”
• Click on “I understood.”

Your account will now be flagged for deletion. 

Also Read: How to install Kik Account 

How do you delete a Yahoo mail account on iOS?

• On your iOS, go to the “Settings” app
• Click on “Mail,” and then on “Accounts.”
• Click on “Yahoo Mail account” and then on “Delete Account.”
• Next, click on “Delete from my iPhone”
• That’s all!

How to remove Yahoo main on Android?

• Go to the “Settings.”
• Click on “Accounts” and then “Email” and then click on your Yahoo account
• Click on “Remove account” and then on “Remove account” again to confirm.

What Happens After You Delete Yahoo! Account?

Yahoo! schedules your account for deletion after you confirm the decision. However, you can revisit the decision and prevent the loss of the account by logging in again within 30 days.

Once you have reactivated your account, you will need to go through the deletion process again. So make sure that you are ready and have backed up all the important data from your Yahoo! account. Check through all the important emails and attachments on Yahoo to see which ones to save.

Yahoo! Mail Alternatives

Since Yahoo! came into existence, several email service providers have entered the space. Gmail and Outlook remain the leading email service providers. But with privacy concerns looming large due to multiple privacy scandals over the past few years, there is a need for secure email providers that offer security features that make the experience more private.

It is not to say that Gmail and Outlook willfully expose you to threats, but the free business model comes with a catch. For example, Google is known to let third-party advertisers scan the inbox of users.

Yahoo is not always the best option when it comes to online privacy and security. As privacy advocates, we encourage the use of secure email providers for sensitive information – at least.

• ProtonMail

Based out of Switzerland, ProtonMail promises to be a private email provider. ProtonMail uses end-to-end encryption to secure email communication. It means that only you and the receiver can read the email.

Moreover, ProtonMail keeps user data on its server in an encrypted form with client-side encryption. This prevents the email service provider from accessing your inbox since only you have access to the key.

ProtonMail is free to use and offers paid subscriptions for features such as more storage and personal email alias.

• Tutanota

Tutanota is built on trust. The trust that nobody can access your email inbox but you. Tutanota stores user data in encrypted form using client-side encryption. It even transmits and authenticates the password using a hash instead of plain-text format.

End-to-end encryption hides everything from the subject line of the email and contents to your address book.

You can start with a free account. Tutanota offers premium and business plans to cater to different needs.

• Mailfence

Mailfence is another Yahoo! alternative with a focus on privacy. It does several things like end-to-end encryption, password-protected emails, and TLS-based server connections to ensure that communication is private and secure. Based in Belgium, Mailfence owns all the servers it operates. This gives it a unique position to offer a service that is not beholden to the privacy policy of data service providers.

The free plan gets you 500MB of email space, but you can upgrade to its premium offering anytime.

Conclusion

Nothing is ever secure when it comes to software. But with mounting evidence against Yahoo! and its lack of security, it’s probably in your best interest to move to a secure email provider. Yahoo! also allegedly scans your email inbox to sell data to advertisers.

It goes to prove why protecting privacy on the internet is so important today. By using encrypted services like iProVPN, you can hide your activities on the internet.