How to delete a Proton account, or just one address

One Proton account holds Proton Mail, Proton VPN, Proton Drive, Proton Pass and Proton Calendar. So whether you searched for deleting Proton Mail or deleting Proton VPN, the action is the same, and it removes everything at once. If you only want to drop one address, Proton has a separate, smaller option.

How do you delete a Proton account?

Sign in at account.proton.me in a web browser and open Settings, then All settings. Select Account and password, scroll to Delete account and click Delete your account. Give a reason, tick the box confirming permanent deletion, click Delete account, and enter your password (and 2FA code if you use one).

Proton's account deletion page says this works in any Proton web app or the desktop app. It cannot be done from the mobile apps, which is why there is no delete button in the Mail or VPN app on your phone.

What gets deleted

Proton is direct about this. As of October 2026, its help page says:

• There is no way to recover a deleted account. The account and all its data are permanently deleted from Proton's systems.
• The deletion applies to Proton Mail, Proton Calendar, Proton VPN, Proton Pass, Proton Drive and any other Proton service you use.
• Proton doesn't recycle usernames. Your username can't be used by someone else, or by any new account you create later.

That last point matters if you plan to come back. Deleting the account and signing up again with the same name won't work. Proton also notes that deleting won't let you switch from @protonmail.com to @proton.me; that is done by upgrading to a paid Mail plan instead.

Proton's inactive accounts page adds that deleted addresses generally can't be recovered or assigned to a new account, with rare exceptions where Proton can confirm reassigning one won't cause impersonation or duplicate usernames. Plan as if the address is gone for good.

Do you want the account gone, or one address?

Your primary address, the one you signed up with, can't be disabled or deleted on its own. To get rid of it, you delete the account.

How to delete one Proton Mail address

Proton's page on deleting email addresses explains the catch first: deleting an address also deletes its encryption keys, so any email tied to it becomes permanently unreadable. Proton therefore won't delete an address while messages linked to it still exist, and you'll see the error "Address cannot be deleted while messages associated with this address exist."

The steps, as Proton gives them:

1. In Proton Mail, click the search bar and choose More search options.
2. In the Address field, pick the address you want to remove. This finds every message linked to it.
3. Tick Select all and click the trash icon. Over 50 results, do it one page at a time.
4. Open Trash, select all, and click X to delete them permanently.
5. Go to Settings, then All settings, then Identity and addresses.
6. Under My addresses, open the arrow in the Actions column and select Delete address.
7. Confirm, and enter your password if asked.

Three limits apply. You can delete one Proton Mail address per year across your account (custom domain addresses don't count toward that). You can't delete an address linked to a Proton Calendar, Proton Drive volume or Proton Pass vault. And default, primary and external addresses can't be deleted at all, according to Proton's addresses and aliases page.

If all you want is for an address to stop receiving mail, disabling it from the same Actions menu does that, and the Actions menu can enable it again later.

Export these first

Deletion is permanent, so everything you want to keep has to leave beforehand. Each Proton service has its own export:

A few details from Proton's own pages that trip people up:

• The Mail Export Tool is available for everyone, including free accounts. Proton says the export can take from a few minutes to a few hours on large inboxes, so start it well before you plan to delete. Our walkthrough on exporting Proton Mail emails covers it step by step.
• Pass can't export from its mobile apps. If you only use Pass on a phone, sign in to the web app or the browser extension to export. Proton recommends the encrypted option if you'll store the file as a backup.
• Calendar exports one calendar at a time. If you have several, pick each from the dropdown and download each ICS.
• Contacts are decrypted in your browser during export, then saved as a VCF file.

Then do the jobs no export covers. Change the login email on every site that uses your Proton address, because a password reset sent to a deleted mailbox goes nowhere. Update recovery addresses on your bank and other accounts. And tell the people who write to you.

If you pay for a Proton plan

Proton's deletion page doesn't describe what happens to a running subscription, so sort out billing before you delete rather than after. Two things from Proton's own documents shape the order.

The 30-day refund window. Proton's terms of service (section 9, last modified October 9, 2026) say you may cancel within 30 days of the initial purchase and get a full refund, requested through Proton's support form. Both the cancellation and the refund request must happen within those 30 days. Refunds can be requested once per user, cash and bank transfer payments aren't refundable, and the option applies to subscriptions bought directly through Proton's website and apps. If you're inside that window, cancel and request the refund while your account still exists.

Where you subscribed. Proton's VPN cancellation guide sends App Store subscribers to their Apple Account settings and Google Play subscribers to the Play Store to cancel. Those subscriptions are billed by Apple or Google, so cancel them there too. For refunds on those purchases, the same Proton page points App Store subscribers to Apple's reportaproblem.apple.com and says Google Play subscribers can contact Proton support or request one through Google Play.

The same Proton page also confirms the reverse: cancelling a subscription doesn't delete your account. You'd keep a free account with access to the free version of every Proton service.

What if you just stop using it?

Leaving a free account untouched is not the same as deleting it, but Proton's inactive account policy covers it. Free accounts that see no sign-in or use for 12 months may be deleted, and Proton sends reminders 30, 15 and 7 days beforehand. Paid accounts are never deleted for inactivity. If you want certainty about when your data is gone, use the delete button.

Moving your Proton mail somewhere else

If you're keeping the mail, the EML files from Proton's Export Tool are the part to hold on to. Secria Mail has a guided Import from Proton under Settings, Import & export, Bring mail in: you drop the EML files in, and they are read and encrypted in your browser before upload, with their original dates kept. It works on every plan, free included, and contacts come in from CSV or vCard. The Secria Proton Mail alternative page shows what each plan includes.

Frequently asked questions

Can I delete my Proton account from the app? No. Proton says deletion can only be done through the web app or the desktop app. Sign in at account.proton.me in a browser instead.

Does deleting Proton Mail delete Proton VPN? Yes. They share one Proton account, and Proton's page says deletion applies to Mail, Calendar, VPN, Pass, Drive and any other Proton service.

Can I sign up again later with the same address? No. Proton doesn't recycle usernames, so the name can't be used by anyone else or by a new account of yours.

Can I recover a deleted Proton account? Proton says there is no way to recover it. All its data is permanently deleted.

Why can't I delete one of my addresses? Usually because messages linked to it still exist, it's tied to a Calendar, Drive volume or Pass vault, it's your primary or default address, or you've already used this year's one deletion.

Deleting takes a minute. The export takes longer, so do that part first and check the files open before you click the button.