How to Delete Your Facebook Account Permanently From Any Device

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How to Quickly Delete Your Facebook Account on Any Device

If you have Facebook fatigue, you might be ready to walk away from the social media behemoth forever. You wouldn’t be alone. So many people are considering it, there’s even a #deletefacebook movement.

Here’s how to permanently delete your Facebook account.

1. Be sure you are logged into Facebook on your device.
2. Click on this link Delete My Facebook Account or:
   • In Facebook, click on the Account button  in the upper-right corner of the screen.
   • Then go to Settings & Privacy > Settings > Privacy > Your Facebook Information.
   • Scroll down to Deactivation and Deletion and click View.
3. Click the Download Info button before you proceed. This will save all the photos and other important content you’ve contributed to Facebook while you used it.
4. Once that process is complete, click Delete Account and follow the prompts.

Your account will be immediately suspended and unavailable in Facebook’s search results. However, the actual account deletion can take a while longer. Facebook gives you a 30-day grace period (from the date you request account deletion) to change your mind and reactivate your account.

Read our full article to learn how to delete your Facebook account permanently, even if you forgot your password, plus the seven things you must know before you delete your Facebook account!

Facebook is a great way to keep in touch with friends and family. It helps us connect in an increasingly mobile world, where people are often separated by thousands of miles.

But in between those cute engagement photos, bubbly birth announcements, and aspirational vacation photos, your feed is also filled with posts you’d rather not see. Not to mention the rabbit hole you fall down when a quick Facebook check-in turns into an hour of scrolling and liking cat memes. Add to that the data privacy concerns that come with using Facebook, and it is easy to see why so many people consider leaving the social media behemoth altogether.

When you’re ready to delete your Facebook account from your iPhone, Android, tablet, or computer, here’s how you can delete your Facebook account once and for all.

How to Delete Your Facebook Account on iPhone, Android, Tablet, or Computer

Ok, you’ve read the fair warnings, you know what to expect, and you’re ready to pull the plug.

Here’s how to permanently delete your Facebook account on phone, or any other device.

1. Be sure you are logged into Facebook on your device.
2. Click on this link Delete My Facebook Account or:
   • In Facebook, click on the Account button  in the upper-right corner of the screen.
   • Then go to Settings & Privacy > Settings > Privacy > Your Facebook Information.
   • Scroll down to Deactivation and Deletion and click View.
3. You will see the following screen.
   
4. Click the Download Info button before you proceed. This will save all the photos and other important content you’ve contributed to Facebook while you used it.
5. Once that process is complete, click Delete Account and follow the prompts.

Your account will be immediately suspended and unavailable in Facebook’s search results. However, the actual account deletion can take a while longer. Facebook gives you a 30-day grace period (from the date you request account deletion) to change your mind and reactivate your account. After that, your Facebook account is gone forever.

How to Delete a Facebook Account Without a Password

There are a few reasons why you might want or need to close a Facebook account you cannot log into. Here are the most common reasons, and how to proceed for each.

Closing the Facebook account of a deceased person

When someone close to you passes away, you will likely want to do something with their Facebook account. Facebook offers two options – memorialize or delete the account. Memorializing a Facebook account freezes it at a moment in time, and leaves it in place for others to find and make public posts. However, no one can log in to a memorialized account.

Facebook also offers surviving family members the option to delete a loved one’s account.

Closing a Facebook account you can no longer access

Can’t remember your login credentials for an old Facebook account you want to get rid of? That presents a problem since Facebook requires you to first log in to an account before you can delete it.

Under all circumstances, you will have to first regain login access to the old account, before you can delete it. Here’s how to do that.

1. From the Facebook home screen, click Forgot Password?
2. You can search for your account via an email address or mobile number.
3. Once Facebook locates your account, it will offer to send you a password reset code by email or SMS to a verified mobile number.
   

If you do not have access to any of those options, you can explore several recovery options. Once you’ve recovered access to your account, you can delete it following the instructions above.

7 Things to Know Before You Permanently Delete Your Facebook Account

Facebook makes it relatively easy to delete your account. What Facebook doesn’t so easily explain, though, is what happens – or doesn’t – when you decide to leave. Before you decide to permanently delete your account, here are seven important things that you should know.

1. Deleting the app on your device doesn’t delete your account

First things first. While it might feel cathartic to delete the Facebook app from your device, you should know that it doesn’t delete your Facebook account itself. It just puts the app out of sight and out of mind.

You’ll need to log in to Facebook and follow certain steps to fully delete your account. If you still have the app on your device, you can easily delete your Facebook account on your iPhone, Android, or tablet. If you already removed the app from your device or are using a computer, you’ll have to use the web version of Facebook to delete your account.

2. You might lose access to other accounts

Many apps offer the convenience of logging in with your Facebook account. If you took advantage of that convenience, be sure to change your login methods on those apps before you permanently delete your Facebook account.

If you can’t remember which apps you use Facebook to log into, you can easily check. Here’s how:

1. In Facebook, click on the Account button  in the upper-right corner of the screen.
2. Choose Settings & Privacy > Settings > Security and Login > Apps and Websites.

You’ll see a list of all the places you’ve logged in using your Facebook account. Be sure to change your login credentials for each to ensure you can still access them before you delete your Facebook account.

3. What Facebook does with your data after you delete your account

There are two types of data that Facebook collects about you – user-generated content (the pictures you post, the status updates you share) and log data (a record of what you do on Facebook, e.g. when you log in, post comments, etc.).

User-generated content is eventually erased (although it may take up to 90 days). However, your log data is preserved forever, although Facebook does remove your name from the activity.

4. Deleting your account doesn’t erase your Facebook existence

Even when you delete your Facebook account, much of your past activity on the social networking app stays visible. This includes any Messenger chats you sent to friends and any content shared by others about you.

While the pictures and status updates you posted go away, your presence on Facebook doesn’t disappear entirely.

5. Save a copy of your data before you delete your Facebook account

All that user-generated content you’ve contributed to Facebook over the years is probably quite valuable to you. If you’re like many people, Facebook has become a photo album of sorts, where you saved countless irreplaceable images over time.

Before you delete your account, take a minute to download a copy of your data. Here’s how.

1. In Facebook, click on the Account button  in the upper-right corner of the screen.
2. Choose Settings & Privacy > Settings > Privacy > Your Facebook Information.
3. Go to the Download Profile Information and click View. You will have a variety of options for the data to include in your download file. They are all pre-selected for your convenience. If you don’t want certain information, just untick the checkbox for each.
4. Select a date range and click Create File.

6. Any Facebook pages you manage go away once you delete your Facebook account

If you created any pages and are the sole administrator, those pages will disappear once you permanently delete your Facebook account. To avoid that, you need to give someone else full administration rights to the page before you go.

7. You can temporarily leave with the Deactivate Facebook Account option

Facebook fatigue is real. Many people want to take a break but aren’t sure the nuclear option of deleting their Facebook account permanently is right for them.

Don’t worry. Facebook offers a temporary solution – account deactivation. When you deactivate your Facebook account, your data stays put, your profile remains undisturbed and you can still use Facebook Messenger. You just temporarily hide all your profile information from view.

The best thing is that there is no time limit on how long you can keep your Facebook account in deactivated status. If and when you decide to return, you log back in to reactivate your account and your social media life goes on as if nothing happened, even if there was a long gap since you were last active. If you go this route, be sure to keep track of the login credentials for your deactivated Facebook account.

Here’s how to deactivate your Facebook account:

1. In Facebook, click on the Account button  in the upper-right corner of the screen.
2. Choose Settings & Privacy > Settings > Privacy > Your Facebook Information.
3. Go to the Deactivation and Deletion and click View.
4. Select the Deactivate Account button and click Continue to account deactivation.

You will be walked through a few additional steps to deactivate your account. When you’re ready to reactivate your Facebook account, just log in and your account is once again active.

How to Reactivate a Deleted Facebook Account

If, after you delete your account, you get cold feet and want to go back to the way things were, Facebook makes it possible to recover your deleted account. At least for a short period of time thirty days, to be exact.

To reactivate your deleted Facebook account, follow these steps:

1. Navigate to Facebook in a web browser or open the app on your smartphone or tablet.
2. Enter the email address and password for your deleted Facebook account.
3. Click Log In and you’ll see a message noting the date scheduled for your account’s deletion, plus options to Cancel Deletion or Confirm Deletion.
4. Choose Cancel Deletion and you’re account will immediately be reinstated.

Unfortunately, if you are beyond the 30 day window, your old Facebook account is gone. Forever. To use Facebook again, you’ll have to create a new profile.

Final Thoughts

Social media is a great way to stay in touch with family and friends, find long-lost acquaintances, and even keep up with current events. However, these conveniences come at a price, especially on Facebook.

Data scandals, fake news, and spending too much time scrolling are just a few of the downsides to using Facebook. Taking a break – temporarily or permanently – is something most Facebook users consider at least once.

When you’re ready to pull the plug and delete your Facebook account, it’s important to understand how that impacts non-Facebook aspects of your life. And don’t forget to download your data first!