How to Delete Skype Account From Desktop or Mobile?

Planning to go off grid? Sick and tired of technology, to the point you don’t want to have to do anything that involves the internet? Or is it just that your Skype holds many memories with your ex and you want to get rid of them by shifting to another service?

Skype is undoubtedly one of the most popular VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) programs. Skype has gained users worldwide over the years. It has laid the groundwork for seamless audio and video chats, allowing individuals standing across the street or hundreds of kilometers apart to engage in real time discussions with the push of a button.
No matter what’s causing you to delete your Skype account, let us tell you that it’s not as easy as deleting your Instagram account. In fact, if you do not do it properly, you might lose access to your Xbox or Outlook account.

In any case, here is a solution that will work for you if you want to delete Skype Account from desktop or mobile.

How to delete Skype account the right way?

When you set out to delete Skype account do it the right way, so that the data is wiped out permanently. However, before doing so, ensure that you know the full process and understand the steps well.

Although it’s no surprise that an online provider wouldn’t advertise the account deletion option upfront, Microsoft has made Skype account closure process extraordinarily complex, more so than it needs to be.

Permanently deleting a Skype account comprises of multiple steps, involving the removal of any payment methods, cancellation of existing subscriptions, and delinking of the Microsoft account and more.

Your Microsoft account is centralized:

Your Skype account is directly linked to your Microsoft account because Microsoft centralizes all services falling under its umbrella.

This means, if you delete one all the other Microsoft-linked services also get deleted. For instance, after deleting your Skype account you will no longer have access to Outlook, online Office apps and OneDrive.

If this sounds too much to you, relax!

You can still retain your Microsoft account while erasing data from the Skype database. In this manner, your account continues to exist but you become invisible on Skype and other users are unable to find you.

How to Delete Your Skype Account on Desktop:

Before permanently closing Skype and the related accounts, you will have to go through a few security steps first.

• Visit this page and enter your credentials then click Next:

• On the subsequent screen, you’ll be asked to enter the code sent to your email address..

• Now you will have to verify your identity after which a confirmation code will be sent to your Email addresses registered with Skype. If you no longer have access to the Email ID’s you can select I don’t have any of these.

• • Enter the code received on your email address and click on Sign in. Now you will come across a new pop-up asking if you want to stay signed in on your device. Click on Yes or No according to your preference.

• Now, you will be prompted to enter the code sent to you and click Verify
  

• The page displayed now will show you what will happen once you delete your Microsoft account. Read these pointers carefully and ensure that you understand before clicking Next.

• As a final step, you will need to check off each of the most common account closure consequences. You will need to select reason for closing down the account at the very bottom and then click Mark account for closure.

At this point all you need to do is, wait for some 60 days or so for your account to be completely deleted and your information in Microsoft’s servers to be removed.

However, if you change your mind at any point during this time, all you need to do is access a Microsoft service with your account and it will be reactivated.

How to Delete Your Skype Account on Mobile:

The process to delete Skype on mobile is a bit different but relatively the same as that on Desktop.

1. Begin by clicking on your profile icon in the screen’s top center
2. Click on the gear icon located in the upper right corner
3. Once the settings menu is open, find and click the Account and Profile
4. In the next tab, the option to close your account will appear. Click on it.
5. Now, you will be asked to confirm your identity which may involve re-entering your password, while the other option depends upon the information you have provided earlier. You can receive an SMS or e-mail with a verification code. All you need to do is, follow the instructions until you see a tab asking you to ensure that your account is ready to close.
6. In this step, you will be presented a list detailing what will happen once you close your account. If Skype happens to be the only Microsoft service you use, most part of this checklist may not be relevant to you. If that is not the case, read this list carefully in order to ensure that you understand each point before checking it and moving down the list. At the bottom, you will need to select the reason for deleting your account via a drop-down menu. Select a valid reason and click on Mark account for closure.

Things to do before you delete Skype Account:

Do not forget the following before breaking up with Skype forever:

• Spend the credits you accumulated for paid Skype calls
• Cancel automatic recharge if you have it activated by visiting this page
• Unlink Microsoft Account Before Deleting Skype

How to Unlink Microsoft Account Before Deleting Skype?

As previously said, Skype lacks a simple delete button, which is not uncommon. Almost every service provider now replaces the “delete” or “remove” buttons with a brief form or a series of checkboxes to prevent customers from unintentionally deleting their accounts. Furthermore, providers now wait a few weeks or more to complete the user’s account deletion request in the expectation that the user would change their mind during the processing time.

Regardless, Skype follows the similar method, in which a user must check various boxes to confirm that they are cancelling their account with their own consent. The VoIP provider then requests a 30- or 60-day processing time before deleting the account.

However, before you go wiping your account and profile, it is vital that you unlink the email id that you have been using for Skype. If you forget or disregard this, you will regret losing access to all of the other services that are linked to the same Skype email address.

So, before we get to the deletion procedure, let’s first look at how to unlink the account.

• Go to Skype’s official website and sign in.
• Scroll down the page and go to Account Settings which can be found under Settings and Preferences.
• Check your Microsoft account id and locate the Unlink
• Click on the Unlink option to unlink your Microsoft id from Skype.
• If you come across a confirmation message, click Continue to proceed.

Note: Unlinking will result in the loss of Skype connections that you may have on other Microsoft domains if the Skype name says either live: “your email address” or outlook: “your email address.”

How to hide your profile on Skype?

The process of hiding your profile on Skype is not too complicated and simply means that you should remove your personal information, which you added when creating your profile.

This includes your name, gender, date of birth, phone number, and location – city and country.

• To delete personal information, sign in to your Skype account, click your name or username in the menu bar and click My Account.

• On the subsequent page, scroll and click on Edit Profile

• You will be directed to your profile page. Click Edit Profile in the Personal information section.

Now remove all your personal information from your account and save the changes made.

How to modify or delete your Avatar from Skype account?

While removing your personal information from Skype, you will need to delete your personal avatar. You can do this through the following steps:

1. Log in to Skype and go to Skype > Profile > Avatar.
   
2. Select a new image
3. Use the login screen to delete your account
   
4. Type Run, press Enter and then type %appdata%\Skype and click on OK.
   
5. Locate and delete the folder with your Skype account’s name.
   
6. Now remove the username from Skype directory and reboot the system.

Whether you choose to delete Skype account on Windows or on the mobile app, in both cases you will be given a period of 30 days to reverse your decision. If you don’t do so, your Skype account will be deleted permanently along with rest of the Microsoft account.

Frequently Asked Questions:

Why can’t I delete my Skype account?

The reason why you can’t delete your Skype account quickly is that Microsoft has deliberately made the account closure process extremely complex and difficult – even more than it needs to be. Permanently deleting a Skype account comprises multiple steps, involving the removal of any payment methods, cancellation of existing subscriptions, de-linking of the Microsoft account, and more. However, Microsoft is not the only one since most online service providers do this to prevent users from leaving and retaining them as long as possible.

Can I delete my Skype account without deleting my Microsoft account?

Yes, it’s possible to delete your Skype account without deleting your Microsoft account and it’s associated services.

How long does it take to delete a Skype account?

You need to wait for some 60 days or so for your account to be completely deleted and for the removal of your information in Microsoft’s servers.

How do I delete my Skype login information?

1. Click on the “More” icon next to your profile name.
2. Click Sign out. Click.
3. Click on Delete my sign-in info.