Delete AOL account – cancel free email address

Unfortunately it’s not easy to delete an AOL account. Obviously, no service likes to let go of a subscriber… but AOL takes this to a new level. I’m of the opinion that it’s near impossible for casual users to even locate the pages they need to go through to cancel the free account, and even if they do, the procedure is not as straightforward as one you have to follow to delete a Gmail account, for instance.

Note #1: You can delete an AOL account only when it’s still accessible. So if you’ve forgotten the AOL email password or the security question, you would need to reset or retrieve that information and then sign in at your account.

Note #2: Closing the AOL account means that you would no longer be able to receive messages. Make sure that this email is not used as the primary address of correspondence for other important accounts such as those of your bank.

Note #3: Any AOL premium services linked to this account will also be cancelled if the account is closed.

By the way, you can always think of forwarding AOL email messages to other accounts using either POP3 or IMAP. For example, you can add the AOL account on Gmail.

Get rid of the AOL account

If the above warnings and suggestions haven’t deterred you, here are the instructions on how to cancel the account. But before you proceed, please delete all your email stored at AOL – why take a chance?

1. Launch the AOL sign in page, enter the username and password to login [Slide 1].
   As stated above, you cannot cancel the account if you’ve forgotten password or are not able to access it. If this was possible, anyone could delete any AOL account, right?
2. Click the “Options” link and select “My account” [Slide 2].
3. A new browser window / tab will open. Scroll down the “Account Options” section and click “And more” link [Slides 3 and 4].
4. You will be shown the security question and need to enter the secret answer [Slide 5]. Please understand that you will not be able to proceed without providing this information. Forgotten the AOL security question and answer? Follow that link for step by step instructions.
5. Click “Manage My Subscriptions” link on the next page [Slide 6].
6. The AOL plan you are using presently will be displayed. Hit the “Change Plan” link [Slide 7].
7. In the pop-up, choose “I already have a High Speed Connection” option and click “View Plans” [Slide 8].
8. To get rid of the free AOL email account, click “Cancel” [Slide 9].
9. AOL helpfully displays the services / benefits you would be losing once you delete the account [Slide 10].
10. Scroll down and click “Cancel AOL” button [Slide 11].

Ensure that the cancellation form is complete in all respects – thus, fields marked with the asterisk are required and should not be left blank. Generally AOL will take 72 hours to close the account.