How to Sign Out of Email on a Mac in 2026: Every Major App

To sign out of email on a Mac, remove the account from the app that holds it. In Apple Mail, open Mail > Settings > Accounts, pick the account and click Remove. In Microsoft Outlook, choose Tools > Accounts > Manage > Remove Account. Gmail in a browser has Sign out under your profile icon.

The last time I handed back a borrowed MacBook, I signed out of Gmail in Safari, felt very responsible, and then noticed Apple Mail was still quietly downloading the same inbox. A Mac can hold one email address in three or four places, and each one signs out separately. This guide takes them app by app, then covers keeping your mail, shared Macs, and a Mac you no longer have.

What happens to your email when you sign out on a Mac

Signing out of an email app on a Mac removes the copies on that Mac, and the mail itself normally stays with your provider. Apple says that taking an account out of Mail clears that mail off your Mac while the server keeps copies, so you can still read them in webmail.

The word "sign out" barely appears in Mac email apps, which is why this is hard to find. Apple Mail, Spark and Mimestream all call it removing an account. Your Gmail, Microsoft or iCloud address carries on existing, and you can add it back later. Closing the address for good is a separate job on the provider's website, and nothing in this guide does that.

One real exception: POP accounts. Microsoft's explainer says that with POP, messages download to your device and are deleted from the email service, so they can only be read on the computer that fetched them. If your account uses POP, your Mac may hold the only copy. A plain test: if your old mail isn't in webmail, treat the Mac's copy as the only one, and save it first using the section on keeping your email below.

How to sign out of Apple Mail on a Mac

To sign out of Apple Mail, remove the account in Mail's settings, or uncheck Enable this account if you only want a break from it. Apple documents both in its guide to managing accounts in Mail.

Remove an account from Apple Mail

1. Open Mail, then choose Mail > Settings. Command-Comma opens the settings of whichever app is in front.
2. Click Accounts.
3. Select the account in the list.
4. Click the Remove button, the minus sign under the list.

If Apple Mail sends you to Internet Accounts

Apple Mail sends you to Internet Accounts when other apps, such as Contacts or Messages, share the same account. You then have two choices in System Settings, and they differ a lot.

1. Choose Apple menu > System Settings, then click Internet Accounts in the sidebar. You may need to scroll down.
2. Click the account.
3. To stop email only, turn off Mail. Calendar and Contacts carry on working.
4. To remove everything, click Delete Account, then click OK.

I'd turn off the Mail switch first. Delete Account turns off every feature of the account, calendars and contacts included, and Apple warns that deleting can remove data stored in your apps, though it may come back if you add the account again.

Turn an Apple Mail account off for a while

Open Mail > Settings > Accounts, pick the account and clear Enable this account. Check the box again when you want it back. When I take a week off, this is what I do with my work address: no red badge on the Dock, and nothing to set up again when I'm home.

How to sign out of Gmail on a Mac

Signing out of Gmail on a Mac depends on where you read it: a browser, Apple Mail, or a third-party app. Each one is independent, and signing out of one leaves the others connected.

Gmail in Safari, Chrome or another browser

1. Open Gmail in the browser.
2. Click your profile icon at the top right.
3. Click Sign out. With more than one Google account in that browser, Google suggests Sign out of all accounts instead.

Gmail in Apple Mail

A Gmail account in Apple Mail stays connected after you sign out in Safari, which is the mistake I made with that MacBook. Remove it using the Apple Mail steps above. If the account also feeds your calendars or contacts, Mail will send you to Internet Accounts instead.

Chrome's own sign-in

Chrome keeps a sign-in that's separate from Gmail's. To clear it, click your profile icon in Chrome, choose Sign out of Chrome, and if a Google service like Gmail is still signed in, select Remove account from Chrome.

Revoke an app's access to your Google Account

Mac email apps' help pages don't say whether removing Gmail also ends the app's permission on Google's side. To check, open your Google Account's linked apps page, select Access to your Google Account, pick the app, then select See details > Remove access > Confirm. I look through this list whenever I stop using a mail app. It's usually longer than I expected.

How to sign out of Outlook on a Mac

To sign out of Microsoft Outlook on a Mac, remove the account under Tools > Accounts. Microsoft's sign-out steps for Outlook for Mac apply to Outlook for Microsoft 365, Outlook 2024 and Outlook 2021. If you see Manage after selecting the account, follow the current steps; if you see a minus sign along the window's lower edge, follow the legacy ones. Microsoft's page doesn't say what happens to downloaded mail either way, so if anything matters, confirm you can see it at Outlook.com or your work webmail first.

Current Outlook for Mac

1. Open Outlook, then choose Tools > Accounts.
2. Select the account in the list.
3. Select Manage, then Remove Account.
4. Select Continue.

Legacy Outlook for Mac

1. Open Outlook, then choose Tools > Accounts.
2. In the left-hand list, select the account.
3. Select the minus sign along the window's lower edge.
4. Select Sign Out.

The Sign Out item in the Outlook menu

The Outlook > Sign Out menu item is a different thing. Signing out of Office on a Mac is done from any Microsoft 365 app's menu, and Microsoft says it disconnects the app from services like OneDrive, removes your settings and clears your recent documents. With a Microsoft 365 subscription, Office will ask you to sign in again. Use it when you want to sign out of Office itself, and use Tools > Accounts when you just want one mailbox gone.

Outlook.com in a browser

Go to Outlook.com, click your initials or picture in the corner of your Inbox, then select Sign out. Ad blockers can hide that picture. Microsoft also says to close all browser windows afterward, a step that's easy to skip.

How to sign out of iCloud Mail on a Mac

To stop iCloud Mail on a Mac without touching anything else, turn off its sync setting rather than signing out of your Apple Account. Signing out is a much bigger change.

1. Choose Apple menu > System Settings, then click your name in the sidebar.
2. Click iCloud, then See All.
3. Find Mail and turn off Sync this Mac.

How to sign out of Spark, Canary Mail and Mimestream on a Mac

Third-party Mac email apps all sign you out by removing the account from their settings, but they treat your data differently. I'd read the note under each one before clicking.

Spark

1. Open Settings in Spark, then Accounts.
2. Select the account and scroll down.
3. Choose to remove the account, then click Remove in the popup.

Spark says removal leaves your emails on the server, and a separate Remove your data option in Settings clears account and preference data from the app. Spark warns you if the account you're removing is your Email for Sync, and removing that one also signs you out of every other account you added to Spark.

Canary Mail

1. Click Canary Mail next to the Apple logo and choose Settings.
2. Open the Accounts tab.
3. Pick the account, then click Delete.
4. Click Continue.

Canary warns that this permanently deletes the account and its data from Canary and can't be undone. The way I read that, it means the app's copy, not your mailbox at Gmail or Microsoft, but Canary's page doesn't spell that out, so check webmail first.

Mimestream

1. Choose Mimestream > Settings. On macOS 12 the item is called Preferences.
2. Open the Accounts tab and select the account.
3. Click the minus sign in the bottom bar.

Removing an account in Mimestream clears its cached data from your Mac. To pause instead, uncheck Enable account: the account leaves the sidebar, syncing stops, and notifications stop.

How to keep your email before signing out on a Mac

To keep email on your Mac after removing an account from Apple Mail, copy it into a local mailbox or export it first. Apple recommends moving messages to a local On My Mac mailbox ahead of time, since the account's own copies leave your Mac when it goes. These steps are for Apple Mail; in another app, check webmail first and look in that app's help for an export option.

You can also export to a file, which I prefer for anything I may need years from now. Select one or more mailboxes in the sidebar, then choose Mailbox > Export Mailbox and pick a folder. Mail saves an .mbox file you can bring back later with File > Import Mailboxes, including on another Mac.

When a client project wrapped up and I had to drop the shared address, I exported the contracts folder first and then removed the account. When someone later asked for an old attachment, I still had it.

A quick check before any removal:

• Can you see the mail in webmail? If yes, removing the account from your Mac costs you nothing there.
• Did you set the account up with POP settings? Export first if you did, or if you aren't sure.
• Is it a work account? Your IT team may have rules about local copies, so ask before exporting client mail.

How to sign out of email on a shared Mac

On a shared Mac, the cleanest setup I know is a separate macOS user for each person, with email signed in only under your own user. Signing out of the app helps, but a browser or a saved password can still put you back in.

• Use private windows for webmail. Microsoft's advice for shared computers is a private window, then sign out, then close every window. On a Mac that's Shift-Command-N in Safari or Chrome.
• Delete saved passwords. In the Passwords app, select All, pick the account, click Edit and delete it. Apple notes this doesn't change the password on the website, it only stops the Mac filling it in.
• Use a separate Chrome profile. Google suggests a separate profile or guest mode for shared computers.
• Log out or lock when you walk away. Control-Command-Q locks the screen, and Shift-Command-Q logs you out of your macOS user.

On the family iMac, I keep my email under my own user and press Control-Command-Q whenever I get up. No per-app signing out at all, and nobody opens my inbox looking for a recipe.

Selling or giving the Mac away is a bigger job than signing out. Back it up, then use Erase All Content and Settings under System Settings > General > Transfer or Reset, available on Apple silicon Macs and Macs with the T2 chip running macOS Monterey or later.

How to sign out of email on a Mac you no longer have

When a Mac is lost, stolen or already gone, you sign it out from your account online, using another device. Gmail and Microsoft accounts both allow this.

Gmail accounts

1. Go to your Google Account at myaccount.google.com, then Security & sign-in.
2. In the Your devices panel, select Manage all devices.
3. Select the Mac or session, then select Sign out.

One Mac can show several sessions, and Google says to sign out of each one to remove access fully. For a stolen Mac, also change the password. Google signs you out everywhere after a password change, except devices you use to verify it's you, some devices with third-party apps you've given access, and some home devices you've given access. That second exception is why I'd also check the linked apps page.

Outlook.com and Microsoft accounts

Sign in to the Advanced security options page on your Microsoft account security dashboard, scroll down to Sign out everywhere and select Sign out. Microsoft says this covers browsers, apps and anywhere else your account signs in, and may take up to 24 hours. Xbox consoles are the exception. Work accounts on Microsoft 365 are usually run by your IT team, so ask them if the Mac belonged to your employer.

Why you still see email after signing out on a Mac

Email that survives a sign-out usually means another app on the Mac still has the account. Find your symptom below.

Adding the account back later should be simple: choose Mail > Add Account and follow the prompts. If Mail refuses your password, the fix is often the account type or an app password, which our guide to the "unable to verify account name or password" error walks through. If you're signing out because you're moving to a different app, the Outlook alternatives for Mac comparison may help you choose, and for keeping a Google account tidy, see how to use Gmail safely on a Mac.