Closing Your Apple ID
What happens permanently — and what to do first
What it is
Your Apple ID is the account that ties every Apple service together. Closing it is permanent and irreversible. Before you do it, there is a specific sequence of steps that prevents losing access to content and accounts you depend on. The 7-day grace period is your safety net — use it.
Digital Legacy & Closing Accounts
- Apple's Digital Legacy program lets you designate people who can access your data after death
- If someone in your life has passed away and you need to access their Apple account, see closingaccounts.com for guidance on the process
- Setting up your own Digital Legacy before leaving Apple is optional but may be worth doing
If someone in your life has passed away and you need to access their Apple account, see closingaccounts.com for guidance specific to bereavement.
Migration steps
- Work through the pre-deletion checklist above completely before starting the deletion
- Confirm all services that used Sign in with Apple have been migrated to a new login
- Cancel all subscriptions individually — deletion may not automatically cancel them
- Submit deletion request at privacy.apple.com
- Keep your phone accessible for the verification code
- After 7 days and confirmation the deletion has completed, remove Apple devices from trusted device list