Another day, another data breach. Between 2012 and 2016, Yahoo experienced a massive data breach that impacted countless users. The narrative and scope of the story changed several times, but the matter has fully come to conclusion. Yahoo must pay a settlement to anyone who had their information stolen during that time period, and the full sum is upwards of $11 million. If you had an active Yahoo account during that time (or forgot to delete your yahoo account that went dormant), you might be entitled to a piece of the pie.
Regardless, you need to know how to delete your Yahoo email account – especially if it’s been compromised. You may also want to know how to delete your Yahoo account because news resurging about the data breach makes you uncomfortable. Nobody can blame you – it’s better to be safe than to be sorry. It’s relatively easy to delete your Yahoo email account by following some simple steps.
Is My Current Yahoo Account Safe?
Yahoo email account data breaches haven’t been reported since the last breach that drew so much attention. This doesn’t mean that everyone is out of the woods. Yahoo claims to have stepped up security measures since the data breach, but no matter what they did, it isn’t enough.
Yahoo simply isn’t a secure email provider. Unless every step of the process were to be fully encrypted, they can still get hit again. Since they have millions upon millions of users, there’s a huge target on their back. Hackers love to attack large volumes of users at once, and Yahoo still can’t call itself completely safe. It wouldn’t hurt to close your account and switch to a secure mail service.
How Do You Permanently Delete Your Yahoo Mail Account?
Remember to cancel any paid services you use through Yahoo first. If you don’t, they’ll continue to bill you even if you don’t have an account. The process of deleting your Yahoo mail account begins on the account termination page. Yahoo’s “delete user” page is relatively easy to follow. From there, here’s how to delete your Yahoo email account:
First enter your username, then enter your password. If you use the Account Key feature, they’ll send you a text with a confirmation code. After you’ve entered the code, you’ll be greeted with the standard confirmation document. This document more or less tells you everything you’re losing and how they’ll comply with the removal of your data. Confirm your email address in the field at the bottom, and then select “Yes, terminate this account.”
It’s important to note that this prompt only deactivates your account and schedules it for full deletion. Yahoo gives themselves up to 180 days to permanently delete your Yahoo email account. It may happen sooner, but there’s no guarantee. It’s important not to procrastinate – the longer you wait to delete your yahoo account, the longer it will take them to fully remove your information.
Switch to a Better Service
Private email services utilizing OpenPGP and end to end encryption are the only email services that are fully safe. Protect yourself from another data breach by switching to a secure provider like Private-Mail. Only log into your email accounts utilizing a VPN connection – this can prevent your password from being intercepted on an open network or when utilizing public WiFi. Prioritize your safety better than Yahoo prioritized the safety of its customers.