SURVIVE WITHOUT GMAIL OR OUTLOOK
Use Google tools without a Gmail account
Contrary to popular belief, you don’t actually need a Gmail account to use Google’s other products and services. Although Google would obviously prefer you to have one, so it can track your data across all its tools in one place, it’s not compulsory and it’s possible to delete your Gmail account and use an email address from a different provider instead.
Visit your Google Dashboard page (www.snipca.com/43741) and select ‘Delete a service’, then click ‘Delete a service’ again. Sign into your Google account with your current Gmail address and click the bin icon next to Gmail. You may want to download your emails and other Gmail data first, through Google’s Takeout service (www.snipca.com/43742). Enter the email address you want to use instead, click ‘Send verification email’ and click the link in the message you receive. Gmail will then be deleted from your Google account.
Note that you won’t be able to use some Google services without Gmail, such as the Google Play Store on your Android phone, so don’t delete your account unless you’re sure you can live without it.
To sign up for a secondary Google account without losing access to your current Gmail inbox, visit Google’s ‘Sign in’ page (www.snipca.com/43744) in a browser in which you’re signed out. Click ‘Create account’, choose ‘For my personal
use’ and click ‘Use my current email address instead’ (see screenshot below left). Enter your name, non-gmail email address and password, and click Next to verify your account.
Use Windows without an Outlook account
If you used your Outlook account when setting up Windows on your PC, but now want to ditch it for another email service, you can switch to using a local account instead. Although this means your data from Microsoft services won’t be synced across devices, it also prevents the company from tracking your activities and using your personal information to target you with ads. Additionally, because a local account stores your login details on your PC, rather than online, it puts you less at risk from hackers and data breaches.
To switch from a Microsoft/outlook account to a local one in Windows 10 or 11, press Windows key+i to open the Settings app and select Accounts then ‘Your info’. Click the ‘Sign in with a local account instead’ link (see screenshot above right) and Microsoft will ask if you’re sure you want to switch. Click ‘Next’, enter your current Microsoft password or PIN, then choose a username and password for your local account. Click ‘Sign out and finish’ to confirm this will sign you out from all Microsoft services.
When installing or reinstalling Windows 10, you can skip the requirement to sign in with an Outlook or other Microsoft email address by clicking ‘Offline account’ in the bottom-left and choosing ‘Limited experience’.
Annoyingly, Windows 11’s setup process now insists you log in with a Microsoft account instead of a local one. One way around this is to disconnect your PC from the internet when you reach the ‘Sign in’ screen, then click the back arrow in the top-left corner. Our sister website Tom’s Hardware suggests other workarounds at www.snipca. com/43746.