How to Get Rid of Old Email Addresses

The rapidly growing importance of email has people creating multiple addresses--one for work, one for family, one for paying bills and more. Many forget the addresses they have created in the past, so the accounts just sit there in cyberspace, unused and taking up bandwidth. It's important to get rid of your old, unused email addresses, and it takes just a few minutes.

Instructions

1. Send a message to everyone in your old email address book letting them know that you are deleting the account. Tell them the address for the account you use so that they can contact you in the future if they need to.

2. Import the addresses from your old account to the address book in your new account. Do this by copying everyone's address from your old account and pasting it into your new account's address book.

3. Forward to your new account any important email messages you'd like to keep. These could be receipts, sentimental letters, financial documents and more.

4. Click on "Settings," then, depending on your email provider, find the option that says "Cancel Your Account." For Gmail and Yahoo!, click "Settings," then the "Accounts and Import" tab, then "Account Settings," then "Edit" next to "Products," then "Cancel Account." Regardless of your provider, you can delete your account in the "Settings" section.

5. Confirm your decision, and keep using your new account.

References

• Gmail: Canceling Your Gmail Address
• OE Updates: How to Cancel Yahoo Email Account

Resources

• Hickory Tech: Email Account Maintenance