How to Delete or Deactivate Your Facebook Account
There are two ways to remove your Facebook account. This guide explains how to delete or deactivate your Facebook account.
Author:Daniel BarrettApr 03, 202366828 Shares954683 Views
If you’ve finally given up on the world’s most popular social medianetwork, it’s not too late to remove yourself from the service. This guide explains how to delete or deactivate your Facebook account.
Facebook walks a fine line between being handy and consuming your whole life. So whether your screen time notification says you’ve spent a tremendous amount of time on your phone today, or you don’t feel the need to share every inch of your life on a newsfeed anymore — it might be time to finally pull the plug on your online life and delete your account temporarily or forever.
Although deleting your Facebook account sounds simple enough, it’s actually hard. Social media platforms make money off you, so they do not want you to stop your incessant scrolling and sharing.
But don’t worry, we’ve created an easy, step-by-step guide on how to delete your Facebook profile to get out from under them or give yourself a break before diving back in.
Note:Before you temporarily or permanently delete your profile on Facebook, we strongly recommend you take your chance to download your archive. This will be included in this guide for those who store or share classified files on their social media profile.
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How to Download Your Archive Using the Web
Before permanently deleting your account, it may be worth downloading your Facebook data; this includes photos and posts you’ve uploaded in the past. To save your data, follow these easy steps:
- Click on the ‘down’ arrow in the upper right corner.
- Go to “Settings & Privacy” > “Settings.”
- In the left-hand column, click on “Your Facebook Information.”
- In the center, find and click on “Download Your Information.”
- When you’re ready, click on “Create File.” You’ll get notified via email when your file is ready. Next, you can choose which Facebook data you want to download.
- After you’ve finished downloading your archive, you can now delete or deactivate your account.
How to Deactivate Your Facebook Account.
There are two ways to remove your Facebook account. The first is ‘deactivating’ your profile; you can reactivate your account at any time. But until then, people will not be able to view your Facebook timeline or search for you. However, some information may stay visible, like the direct messages you’ve previously sent.
The other way to remove your Facebook account is by deleting it forever. If you choose this, Facebook will delay the deletion for a few days after the request is made. If you log in during this period, the deletion process is canceled automatically, and Facebook will restore your account (it really doesn’t want you to leave).
To temporarily deactivate your Facebook account, all you have to do is log onto your profile on the desktop and then follow these steps:
- Click the account menu down arrow at the top right of any Facebook page in your web browser.
- Select ‘Settings.’
- Choose ‘General’ in the left column.
- Click “Manage your account.”
- Press “Deactivate your account” and then confirm your decision.
However, you can reactivate or restore your account by logging in to Facebook, and the entirety of your profile will be reinstated.
How to Delete Your Facebook Account Permanently
As much as we don’t want to admit it, deleting your Facebook account is a serious decision and can impact how you stay in touch with distant relatives and find social opportunities with friends.
It’s as simple as following this link and selecting “Delete Account,” — BUT WAIT!
Before permanently deleting your account, kindly follow the highlighted steps above to download your archive. The steps below will show you how to delete your account permanently.
- Click in the top right ofFacebook.
- Select Settings & Privacy, then click Settings.
- Click Your Facebook Information in the left column.
- Click Deactivation and Deletion.
- Choose Permanently Delete Account, then click Continue to Account Deletion.
You’ll get another chance to download your archive or choose deactivation rather than deletion. However, once you click “Delete My Account,” your account will be marked for termination and inaccessible to others using Facebook.
Once your account has been permanently deleted, there’s no way to reactivate your account. Also, it can take up to 90 days for your data stored in its backup system to be deleted, but this information isn’t accessible on Facebook.
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Daniel Barrett
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