- You can delete your Apple ID from Apple's Data & Privacy website.
- Deleting your Apple ID will also delete any content stored in your iCloud account and revoke your access to Apple services.
- You may instead choose to deactivate your account and then reactivate it at any time to restore access to your Apple ID and Apple services.
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While an Apple ID is essential for using an iOS device, if you are leaving the Apple device ecosystem, you might want to delete your account to clean up your digital footprint. Whatever reason you might have to want to deactivate your account, though, Apple makes it easy to do this on its Data & Privacy website.
How to delete an Apple ID account
If you anticipate having no need for your Apple ID ever again and want to permanently deactivate it, you can use Apple's Data & Privacy website. If you do this, here is what happens:
- You won't be able to sign into any Apple services that use your Apple ID. This includes the App Store, iCloud, iTunes, Apple Pay, FaceTime, and others.
- Any content stored in your iCloud account is permanently deleted. This includes photos, videos, music, and documents, so download anything you want to keep and store it separately from your iCloud account.
- You won't be able to receive messages via iMessage, FaceTime, or iCloud Mail.
- If you have a paid iCloud storage plan, it'll be automatically canceled. But if you have any other subscriptions managed by your Apple ID, such as Apple Music or Apple TV+, you need to cancel those manually before you delete the account.
When you are ready to delete your account, do this:
1. Open Apple's Data & Privacy website in a browser. If you're not already logged in, sign into the Apple ID account you want to delete.
2. Scroll down and in the Delete your account section, click Request to delete your account.
3. Review what happens when you delete your account and make sure you've done everything in the Before deleting your account section. Then select a reason for deleting the account in the dropdown menu and click Continue.
4. Review the next page of warnings and click Continue.
5. Click the checkbox to agree to the Deletion Terms & Conditions and then click Continue.
6. Indicate how Apple should contact you with status updates for the account deletion and click Continue.
7. Record the access code Apple provides and click Continue.
8. Complete the final steps to confirm your intention to delete your account and then, on the confirmation screen, click Sign out.
Apple will then manually verify this is a valid request. You will get confirmation, usually within about a week, that your deletion is complete.
How to deactivate an Apple ID account
If you want to step away from your Apple ID and prevent it from being used, but you're not necessarily ready to completely delete your data and access to Apple services, you can choose to deactivate your account instead. This is a temporary measure; your data is not deleted, and you can reactivate your account easily. Here's what happens if you deactivate your account:
- Apple will freeze your data and not process or handle it.
- You won't be able to access Apple services that require your Apple ID, including iCloud, the Apple Store, Apple Pay, iMessages, and more.
- You won't be able to send or receive messages via iMessage, FaceTime, or iCloud Mail.
When you are ready to deactivate your account, do this:
1. Open Apple's Data & Privacy website in a browser. If you're not already logged in, sign into the Apple ID account you want to delete.
2. Scroll down and in the Temporarily deactivate your account section, click Request to deactivate your account.
3. Follow the instructions on each page to confirm you want to deactivate your account and proceed with the deactivation process.
4. On the confirmation screen, click Sign out.
Deactivation generally takes about a week to be processed and approved by Apple, and you will get a notification when it is complete. Apple will also send you instructions on how to reactivate your account, should you want to.