Deleting a never used Outlook address.

Question

I have an Outlook email address that I created with the purpose of possibly using it to replace my longstanding personal Outlook email address. My personal email was part of a data breach at my healthcare provider, and I was being bombarded with phishing emails because of it. I gave up on the idea though and never utilized the would-be replacement account. I would like to have that account deleted now. However, I have no recollection of what the password may have been and since I never used it, I have no email history whatsoever which I can refer to in order to verify that I am the account owner. If I just forget about it, will it eventually be deleted due to lack of use?

Answer 1

Hello,

If you don't know the password, and didn't set up recovery method, and don't have enough history record to prove account ownership, you would just have to let that account close on its own when it hits the 2-year mark of inactivity.

Microsoft's account activity policy is explained here:  https://support.microsoft.com/topic/microsoft-account-activity-policy-7c0a9fa7-0982-b7c6-fd72-df852b63699f

Answer 2

If you have created an Outlook email address but never used it, the account will eventually be deleted due to inactivity. Microsoft typically deletes accounts that have not been accessed for a period of time, which is generally around two years. Since you mentioned that you do not recall the password and have no email history to verify ownership, you may not be able to delete the account manually. However, if you simply forget about it, it should be automatically deleted after the inactivity period.

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References:

• Attempting to access old email - Microsoft Q&A