How to delete a user account on Windows 11 (2024)

Windows 11, much like prior versions of the operating system, lets you use multiple accounts on the same computer, so if you share a computer with multiple people, each one has their own profile. But if you eventually decide that you no longer need different accounts, you can also delete an account.

It's worth noting that we're talking about user accounts here, not Microsoft accounts. Deleting a Microsoft account isn't related to Windows itself, so don't get them confused. You can unlink your Microsoft account from your PC, though.

How to delete a user account using the Settings app

How Microsoft wants you to do it

The preferred method for deleting a user account on Windows 11 is through the Settings app since that's the interface that's more actively maintained. The process may actually seem a bit confusing these days because of the many options related to Microsoft accounts, but here's what you need to do.

1. Open the Settings app.
2. On the left-side pane, click Accounts.

   

3. Click Other users to see a list of other user accounts on your PC.

   

4. Click on the account you want to delete, then click the Remove button next to Account and data.

   

5. Confirm that you want to delete the account, and all the associated data will be removed.

   

How to delete a user account using Control Panel

The old-school way

If you still like using the old Control Panel, Microsoft still hasn't removed the option to do it this way. Here's how:

1. Open the Start menu and search for Control Panel, then select the first option.
2. Click User accounts.

   

3. Click Remove user accounts.

   

4. You'll see a list of all the accounts on your PC. Click the one you want to remove, then choose Delete the account on the next page.

   

5. You'll be asked whether you want to keep the files associated with the account. Choose Delete files to remove everything or Keep files to save them on the desktop of the current user.

   

6. Click Delete account to confirm the deletion.

A big benefit of this method is that it gives you the option to keep the files associated with a user account, which the Settings app doesn't do.

How to delete a user account using Windows Terminal (Windows PowerShell)

For the keyboard lovers out there

If you prefer a command line interface for using Windows, you can remove a user account using Windows PowerShell or Windows Terminal. Windows Terminal is the newest terminal that ships as part of Windows, and by default, it opens the Windows PowerShell profile, though it can also function as the classic Command Prompt (which we'll cover later). To delete a user account with Windows Terminal / PowerShell, follow these steps:

1. Launch Windows Terminal as an administrator. You can right-click the Start menu (or press Windows + X) and choose Terminal (Admin) to do this.

   This option may also show up as Windows Terminal (Admin) or Windows PowerShell (Admin).

2. To see all the user accounts on your PC, type Get-LocalUser, then press Enter.
3. Once you know what account to delete, enter the command below, replacing USERNAME with the name of the account you want to delete (in this case, it's Test).

   Remove-LocalUser -Name "USERNAME"

   

4. The account will be deleted, but files from it will be kept in the Users folder.

How to delete a user account using Command Prompt

Another text-based method for deleting accounts

The classic Command Prompt can also be used to delete a user account on Windows 11, and it's pretty similar to using Windows Terminal. In fact, you can use Command Prompt inside Windows Terminal if you want. If you prefer doing it this way, here's how:

1. Open the Start menu and search for Command Prompt.
2. Choose Run as administrator under the first result.

   

3. To see user accounts on your PC, type net user and press Enter.
4. To delete a user account, type the command below, replacing USERNAME with the name of the account you want to remove.

   net user USERNAME /delete

   

5. Similar to the PowerShell method, this will delete the account but not the associated files.

How to delete a user account using Computer Management

Still need more alternatives?

The methods above should be more than enough for most people, but there are still a couple of extra ways to delete a user account if you want to take a different route. These options also keep the files from the deleted user by default. One of them is using Computer Management, though this option is not available in Home editions of Windows. Still, if you have Windows 11 Pro or higher, you can follow these steps:

1. Right-click the Start menu icon and choose Computer Management.

   

2. On the left-side pane, select Local Users & Groups, then open the Users folder inside.

   

3. Right-click the account you want to remove and choose Delete.

   

4. Click Yes to confirm the deletion.

The user account will be removed from your PC, but the files associated with it will be kept.

How to delete a user account using the User Accounts dialog

If you really don't want to do it any other way

The last method you can use to delete a user account on Windows 11 is the User Accounts dialog, though this one is actually a bit hard to find unless you know specifically what you're looking for. If you want to use it, here's what you need to do:

1. Open the Start menu and search for netplwiz then press Enter to open the User Accounts dialog.

   

2. Click the account you want to delete on the list, then click Remove.

   

3. Click Yes in the confirmation prompt, then click OK in the User Accounts window to confirm your changes.

Just like the method above, this one also keeps the user's files on the PC.

Plenty of ways to delete an account

That covers a wide range of methods, so you can choose whatever you prefer when it comes to deleting a user account you don't need anymore. Whether you had a shared family PC that is now just yours, or you lent your computer to someone and they no longer need it, these steps make it easy to undo that and go back to normal.