Facebook has suffered from a series of data leaks and breaches, on top of multiple privacy scandals. No one would blame you if you’ve decided to delete your Facebook account, here’s how to do it from a browser or iPhone.
Facebook has suffered from a series of data leaks and breaches, on top of multiple privacy scandals. ... [+] No one would blame you if you’ve decided to delete your Facebook account.
NurPhoto via Getty ImagesNo one could blame you if you have had enough of Facebook. The company has been caught not looking after user data, it has been hacked multiple times, and involved in privacy scandals.
For many people, the latest Facebook data leak of 500 million users’ details was the last straw. Facebook isn’t known for looking after its users’ data, or for apologising when things go wrong.
Facebook is also about to be outed further by Apple’s new feature coming soon in iOS 14.5, which helps you stop the tech giant from tracking you on your iPhone across apps and services. Maybe you’ve already deleted Facebook on your iPhone; I did so a long time ago.
So how do you delete your account permanently?
Delete Facebook using a browser
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Deleting Facebook using your browser is easy. First, think about whether you’d like to keep the data from your Facebook account such as photos, or save the details if you use Facebook to log into your Oculus.
Facebook has actually published a handy guide detailing how you can get your data before deleting your account.
Once you’ve downloaded your data and you’re ready to delete your Facebook account, go to Settings & Privacy > Settings > Your Facebook Information > Deactivation and Deletion > Permanently Delete Account > Delete Account.
There is a 30 day “cooling off” period, so you can change your mind if you want.
And voila. Bye bye Facebook.
Delete Facebook from your iPhone
If you’d rather use your iPhone to delete Facebook, that’s simple too. Just go to Settings and Privacy > Settings > Account Ownership and Control > Deactivation and Deletion > Delete Account.
You’ll need to, of course, delete the Facebook app from your iPhone and revoke all app permissions. You’ll also need to reset the user name and password on any apps you use Facebook to log into.
To delete or not to delete Facebook
It’s a difficult decision, as deleting Facebook is very much permanent and you will of course get rid of Messenger too. And Facebook owned app Instagram collects a lot of your data as well, so ideally you’d need to get rid of it.
And that’s without considering WhatsApp—which is also owned by Facebook but is not the same data-machine as Facebook and Instagram—at least yet.
If you are a little hesitant but want to try life without Facebook, you can of course, temporarily deactivate your account. But note: Facebook will encourage you to do this rather than delete, and this does not delete your account or data from Facebook.
On the other hand, it’s certainly a way to try before you buy. If you do choose to deactivate, and find life without Facebook is as you suspected better, you can then go back and delete your account when you are ready.
Whether you’ve been considering taking a break from Facebook or decided it’s time to leave the platform for good, follow along for how to deactivate or delete Facebook, or dial in your privacy settings.
Table of contents
- How to deactivate or delete Facebook
- How to permanently delete Facebook
- What does deactivating Facebook do?
- How to delete Facebook accounts on the web
- How to change your privacy settings
There are a few options when it comes to changing how you use Facebook. First, you can adjust and tighten up your security and privacy settings if you’d like to continue using the platform.
Alternatively, you can use the temporary or semi-permanent option of deactivating your account, which suspends it and will allow you to reactivate it in the future.
Lastly, you can permanently delete your Facebook account. We’ll take a look at how to accomplish all three below, skip to whichever section you’d like if you’re confident about what you’d like to do. You can do any of these options on iPhone and iPad as well as the web.
Since deleting your account is not reversible, you may want to download a copy of your Facebook data. See Facebook’s help page on that here.
How to deactivate or delete Facebook
How to permanently delete Facebook
- Launch the Facebook iOS app and tap on the hamburger icon (three lines) in the bottom right corner
- Swipe down to the bottom and tap on Settings & Privacy, then Settings
- Tap Personal and Account Information
- Choose Account Ownership and Control at the top
- Tap Deactivation and deletion > then choose Delete account
- Follow the prompts to delete your account
- You may want to download a copy of your information from Facebook, look for the link to do that as shown below
- Also, keep in mind completely deleting Facebook will delete Messenger and all messages too
- After deleting Facebook there is a 30-day grace period to change your mind
Here’s what this process looks like:
What does deactivating Facebook do?
Here’s how Facebook describes deactivating an account:
If you deactivate, your account your profile won’t be visible to other people on Facebook and people won’t be able to search for you. Some information, such as messages you sent to friends, may still be visible to others.
Read more on this on Facebook’s help page. Also, see more on the difference between deactivating and deleting here.
How to delete Facebook accounts on the web
- Visit //www.facebook.com/help/delete_account
- Login in with your credentials if needed
- Click Delete My Account
- Follow the prompts to permanently delete your account
Here are a few more important details on what deleting your account entails:
If it’s been less than 30 days since you initiated the deletion, you can cancel your account deletion. After 30 days, your account and all your information will be permanently deleted, and you won’t be able to retrieve your information.
It may take up to 90 days from the beginning of the deletion process to delete all the things you’ve posted. While we’re deleting this information, it’s not accessible to other people using Facebook.
How to change your privacy settings
- Open the Facebook iOS app
- Tap on the hamburger icon (three lines) in the bottom right corner
- Swipe down to the bottom and tap on Settings & Privacy > Settings > Privacy Checkup
- Go through the settings to adjust them
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About the Author
Michael Potuck
@michaelpotuck
Michael is an editor for 9to5Mac. Since joining in 2016 he has written more than 3,000 articles including breaking news, reviews, and detailed comparisons and tutorials.