How To Delete Your Facebook Account

5 days ago

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You whitethorn beryllium wondering really to delete your Facebook narration now that fact-checking is nary longer considered important, and Meta’s changing its meaning of what constitutes Hateful Conduct. It’s easy to do, and we’ll show you how. But, you should download each your worldly first.

The pursuing instructions are for nan web type of Facebook, but you tin recreation beautiful overmuch nan aforesaid bid connected nan mobile app.

Download your archives

Your Facebook archives incorporated conscionable astir each of nan pertinent accusation related to your account, including your photos, progressive sessions, chat history, IP addresses, facial nickname data, and which ads you clicked. That’s individual accusation you should save.

Click connected your individual icon successful nan upper-right corner.
Go to Settings & Privacy > Settings.
Click connected nan Accounts Center instrumentality connected nan left.

Facebook “Settings and privacy” page showing Account Center connected nan left.

The Accounts Center is wherever you tin immoderate download your info and delete your account.

Screenshot: Meta

Go to Your accusation and permissions connected nan left, and past Download Your Information > Download aliases proscription information.
You tin return to proscription accusation from your Facebook aliases Instagram narration (or both).
You now personification a different choice. You tin premier Available information, which includes everything but accusation logs (Meta defines these arsenic “additional specifications we cod and shop that tin beryllium associated pinch you.)” Or you tin premier Specific types of information, which allows you to find precisely what you want to download, including those accusation logs.
If you return nan latter, you tin past premier from nan assortment of accusation you’ve accumulated, including posts, friends, logged information, saved items and collections, etc. (You tin too get nan accusation logs, though Facebook warns it could return 15 days for them to show.) Click connected Select all — but beryllium alert you personification to click it for each category. When you’re ready, premier Next.

A “Select information” pop-up instrumentality showing a database of types of Facebook accusation pinch checkboxes adjacent to them.

You tin download various types of Facebook data, aliases each of it. The 2nd will return longer.

Screenshot: Meta

Choose Download to device aliases Transfer to destination. According to Meta, nan emblematic download is astir 2.5GB.
You’ll now beryllium tin to premier nan time scope of nan info you want to download (or you tin simply download each of it), nan format (usually HTML aliases JSON), and nan media worth (low, medium, aliases high). Enter an email reside for a notification erstwhile nan download is ready.
Finally, premier Create files. You’ll personification an email erstwhile your grounds is ready, and it will beryllium disposable for a less days. If you’ve been waiting a while and want to cognize nan position of your download (or want to cancel it), spell backmost to nan Download your information tab.

Pop-up headed “Download your information” pinch a conception branded “In progress” halfway down.

You’ll beryllium notified erstwhile your accusation is caller for download.

Screenshot: Meta

Delete your account

You’re caller to delete your narration erstwhile you’ve vanished downloading your archive.

When you are ready, spell backmost to nan Accounts Center and click connected Personal Details > Account ownership and powerfulness > Deactivation aliases deletion.
Click Deactivation and Deletion.
If you personification immoderate Facebook and Instagram accounts, you will beryllium asked to return one.

Pop-up exemplary headed Deactivating aliases deleting your Facebook account, pinch nan premier of doing either underneath.

Facebook gives you nan action of temporarily deactivating your narration — conscionable successful suit you mightiness alteration your mind.

Screenshot: Meta

If you only want to deactivate your narration temporarily (maybe you dream CEO Mark Zuckerberg will alteration his mind?), you tin return to do so. Otherwise, premier Delete account and click Continue.
You’ll beryllium informed of immoderate different accounts you personification pinch Meta and fixed respective options to explicate why you’re leaving. Just support hitting Continue.

Pop-up pinch cheque boxes truthful group tin return why they’re leaving Facebook.

Why do you want to leave? Choose your reason.

Screenshot: Meta

You’ll spot an action to deactivate your narration instead, aliases prevention nan posts successful your archive, download your info, and reappraisal nan apps you’re logged into. When you’re ready, deed Continue.
You’ll beryllium asked your password for confirmation. Enter it.
Finally ready? Hit Delete account.
Once you click Delete account, your narration will beryllium marked for termination and inaccessible to others utilizing Facebook.

Pop-up headed Confirm imperishable narration deletion pinch explanatory matter beneath and a bluish Delete narration button.

It takes a less pages, but you will yet get to nan constituent wherever you tin delete your account. And moreover aft that, you personification clip to log successful again.

Screenshot: Meta

Meta notes that it delays termination for a less days aft nan petition has gone through. The deletion will beryllium canceled if you log backmost successful during that period. So don’t mobility on, aliases you’ll beryllium forced to commencement nan process complete again.

Certain things, for illustration comments you’ve made connected a friend’s post, whitethorn still look moreover aft you delete your account. Facebook too says that copies of definite items for illustration log records will enactment successful its database, but it notes that those are disassociated pinch individual identifiers.

If you’re really superior astir quitting point associated pinch Meta, retrieve that nan institution owns respective different celebrated services arsenic well, for illustration Instagram, WhatsApp, and Threads, truthful you should delete your accounts there, too.

Update January 9th, 2025: This article was primitively published connected September 28th, 2018, and has been updated respective times to fto for changes successful nan Facebook interface.