How to Delete Facebook Account Permanently
Sometimes, enough is enough. If you feel tired of Facebook, the biggest social network in the world, you are on your right to delete your account whenever you want.
Deleting your Facebook account is an easy process that will help you to have greater control over your personal data.
At the end of the day, there are other apps and platforms that you can use to keep in touch with your friends and family. Besides, you can always re-enter your account as long as Facebook hasn’t permanently removed it.
It doesn’t matter what your motives are - we will still tell you how to delete Facebook account as soon as possible. Keep on reading this blog post to get valuable info about:
- How to delete Facebook accounts;
- How to keep your Facebook info before the platforms permanently delete your account;
- Deactivate or delete my account: What should I do?!
What Happens if You Delete Your Facebook Account?
First, it’s important to mention that there are two different processes related to your Facebook account: account deletion and account deactivation.
We will further elaborate on both concepts to explain the differences between deactivation and deletion.
When you deactivate your account:
- No one will be able to see your Facebook account, but the Facebook profile picture will remain visible in Facebook Messenger;
- Each Facebook Page you own will be deactivated;
- You will still appear in your friends’ inboxes, but only to your friends and not to someone else.
On the other hand, deleting your account will result in the following actions:
- It’s impossible to reactivate your account once it gets permanently deleted;
- All of your personal information will be lost;
- Nobody will be able to see your Facebook account, photos, videos, and any other data stored in your account.
Differences Between the Deactivation Process and Deletion Process
Deactivation and deletion are two entirely different things that ultimately lead to similar goals.
You can do both on the Settings of your Facebook account, but it’s fundamental to comprehend the differences before you continue to “account deletion” or deactivation.
| Deactivate or Delete Your Facebook Account: The differences | |
|---|---|
| Temporarily Deactivate Your Account | Permanently Delete Account |
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Both of the options are good to manage your Facebook information at your will properly.
Just keep in mind that if you delete your Facebook account, you are choosing a permanent solution to a problem that might be temporary.
That’s why it’s essential to know if it’s better just to deactivate accounts or delete them. At the end of the day, you are the one that decides what to do with the data of your account on the Facebook page.
How to Permanently Delete your Facebook Account
For practical purposes, this guide will tell you in detail how to delete your account on Facebook.
The process to deactivate your account is pretty similar, but for now, let’s focus just on deleting your account.
Step 1: Start by Deleting the Facebook App
It has been proved that most Facebook users use the mobile app and not the desktop website.
Nevertheless, it’s highly recommended to make the process to delete your account on a web browser. Even if you try to do it on mobile apps, we still advise you to go to a mobile browser.
Therefore, start by deleting the Facebook app once and for all. You can do this in your phone settings easily. Now that your phone is Facebook-free, let’s start.
Step 2: Click or Tap “Settings/Privacy”
Then, go to your Facebook account to log in and start the deletion process. In the browser, click the icon that appears on the top right corner.
A drop-down menu will pop up. There, you need to select “Settings/Privacy” and go to the Settings page.
Click the Settings option and proceed to delete your account.
Step 3: Select “Your Facebook Information”
Then, in the left column of the Settings menu, you need to click “Your Facebook Information” in order to continue:
Back in the day, it was necessary to select “Account Ownership and Control,” but now all the options related to your account are found here and not on “Account Ownership.”
This step might change depending on the device you are using to log in to your Facebook account. That’s why it’s important to complete this process on a browser.
Click the following option to proceed with the deletion request:
Step 4: Click “Delete Account”
Then, two options will appear on the screen: deactivate or delete your account:
Click “delete account” and move on. At this point, you can either proceed to finally delete your Facebook account, or you can save all of your info.
Step 5: Download Your Information Before You Proceed
You probably don’t want to preserve your information, but we highly recommend you do it.
We never know when we will need the photos, videos, and even settings of our account.
What’s more, Facebook said that they also keep log records in their database, as well as personal identifiers in case you want to come back.
So, just click on “Download Information” and save everything you want to save. Fortunately, Facebook allows you to create a date range of the data you actually want to store.
You can save pretty much anything you want: log settings, multimedia files, conversations, and more. Once you are done, just click on “Create File”:
Later on, all the info will be directly sent to your email. It won’t be immediate, but you will now have it all. Now you are indeed ready - click “delete” and say goodbye to Facebook once and for all!
Important note: You can reverse this process whenever you want within 30 days. Thus, if you access your account after those 30 days have passed, then all of your data will be permanently deleted - no exceptions.
You Are the Legit Owner of All Your Facebook Info
It doesn’t matter the reasons that led you to stop using Facebook forever. Maybe it was a publication that appeared on Business Insider ( like this one), or perhaps you had a bad experience with the platform and Facebook not working.
The important thing here is to understand that the decision should always be yours no matter what. There are plenty of fish in the sea, so don’t get sad about this decision - better things will come.
That’s it for today! Check our other guides to get more info regarding Facebook, Snapchat, and more social media platforms.
Facebook Account Deletion FAQ
When You Delete Your Facebook Account, is it Really Deleted?
It is after 30 days. You can log in whenever you want before the 30 days have passed, and you will recover it all. Hence, if you really want to delete the account forever, you better definitely forget about Facebook once you press that delete button.
What Do My Friends See When I Delete My Facebook Profile?
Nothing. They won’t be able to check your profile nor your data. It will be like you never existed on Facebook. Still, keep in mind that this only happens when you delete the account - in case you deactivate it, they will still be able to see you in Messenger or other apps.
Karen is a senior technical writer and copywriter here at GrowFollowing. Her area of expertize are social media apps and new media.