How to Delete a Mailfence Account

Mailfence is a Belgium-based secure email and productivity suite — as well as a mailbox, an account can hold Documents, Calendars, Contacts, and Groups. That matters when you close it: deleting the account removes all of those, not just your email. This guide walks through saving each piece, handling any paid subscription, and completing the deletion.

Back up your mail, documents, and contacts

Mailfence includes IMAP access on paid plans and offers export tools in its settings. The most complete backup is to pull everything into a local client before you touch the deletion page.

1. Download your email over IMAP

   Add the account to a desktop client such as Thunderbird using Mailfence's published IMAP server settings (found under Settings → Messages or Mailfence's help pages). Let the client sync every folder to your computer. If your plan doesn't include IMAP, use the export option in settings to save messages.

2. Save your Documents module files

   Open the Documents app in the Mailfence interface and download each file or folder you want to keep. These are stored separately from email and are erased with the account.

3. Export contacts and calendars

   In the Contacts app, look for an export option to save a vCard or CSV file. In Calendars, export your events as an ICS file so you can import them elsewhere.

Move accounts that use this address

Before the address stops working, change the login or recovery email on anything important — banks, your password manager, other email accounts, cloud storage, and any two-factor setup that emails codes to Mailfence. Search your mailbox for "verify", "welcome", and "receipt" to surface services you have forgotten about. After deletion, password-reset messages sent to your Mailfence address will bounce, which can lock you out for good.

Cancel or downgrade a paid plan

Mailfence sells paid tiers (Entry, Pro, and Ultra) alongside its free plan. If you pay, handle billing before deletion so a renewal charge doesn't land after the mailbox is gone.

1. Open your subscription settings

   In Settings, look for the Subscription or plan section. It shows your current tier and renewal date.

2. Turn off auto-renewal or downgrade

   Disable automatic renewal, or downgrade to the free plan, so the paid term is not billed again. If you are inside a refund window and want a refund, contact Mailfence support before deleting rather than after — support cannot easily act on a deleted account.

Delete the account

1. Sign in and open Settings

   Log in to the Mailfence web interface and open Settings (the gear or account menu). Go to the Account section.

2. Find the deletion option

   Look for Delete account (sometimes shown as "Close" or "Remove account"). If it isn't visible in your settings — for example on some organization or admin-managed accounts — Mailfence's support page explains how to request closure directly.

3. Confirm your identity

   Re-enter your password, and a two-factor code if you have 2FA enabled. Mailfence may ask you to confirm you understand the data will be erased.

4. Submit the deletion

   Confirm. The account is scheduled for removal and stops working. You'll no longer be able to sign in.

Recovery window and what breaks

• Recovery: once processed, the account and its data cannot be restored. Don't count on any grace period.
• Incoming mail bounces. Senders receive a delivery-failure message; nothing is forwarded.
• The address is retired. Treat it as gone for good and never assume it is safe to reuse elsewhere as a recovery contact.
• Linked apps stop. Any calendar subscription, shared Group, or app connected via IMAP/SMTP will fail to authenticate.

If your only goal was a cleaner inbox rather than leaving the service, you may not need to delete at all — see how to stop spam and unsubscribe properly first.

Frequently asked questions