Deactivate or Delete Facebook to Help Prevent Identity Theft, Here’s How

We’ve all thought about deleting our social media accounts, especially Facebook. You’ve probably heard that Meta has removed fact-checking from Facebook and Instagram, a move that’s left a lot of us seriously contemplating deleting our accounts.

You might not have heard that Meta tracks you across the internet, regardless of whether you have a Facebook profile or are actively using its apps. If you’re tired of the social media time suck or are wary about being so heavily tracked, we can walk you through how to delete your Facebook account below.

Remember, you can amp up your protection by subscribing to one of the best data removal services, which can help delete your information from data brokers and people search sites. Data removal services may also include extra security tools like ad and tracker blockers to reduce overall data collection that contributes to scams, spam, and identity theft.

How to delete your Facebook account permanently (mobile)

Permanently deleting your Facebook account means you will no longer have access to any of the data stored on the platform. Many people have albums of pictures, social groups, saved recipes, craft ideas, and more. You can download that information prior to deletion if you’d like to keep it but still axe your user profile.

Here’s how to delete your Facebook account via smartphone.

Via Accounts Center

1. From your main profile, tap the three lines (menu button) in the bottom right.
2. Scroll down and tap Settings & Privacy.
3. Tap Settings.
4. Tap See more in Accounts Center.
5. Tap Personal details.
6. Tap Account ownership and control.
7. Tap Deactivation or deletion.
8. Choose the account or profile you want to delete.
9. Tap Delete account.
10. Tap Continue.
11. Follow the instructions to confirm.

Via Settings

1. From your main profile, tap the three lines (menu button) in the bottom right.
2. Scroll down and tap Settings & Privacy.
3. Tap Settings.
4. Tap Profile access and control.
5. Tap Deactivation and deletion.
6. Choose the account or profile you want to delete.
7. Tap Delete account.
8. Tap Continue.
9. Follow the instructions to confirm.

How to deactivate or reactivate your Facebook account (mobile)

If you aren’t ready to let go of your Facebook account entirely, you can temporarily deactivate it — and reactivate it later. This is a popular choice for Meta users who experience social media fatigue and need a break from trolls, targeted marketing, and political polarization.

Deactivating your Facebook account

Facebook deactivation allows you to step away from the social platform while still retaining the option to reactivate your account at a later time. 

You can temporarily deactivate your Facebook account by following the steps below.

• On the home screen, click your profile picture.
• Click Settings & Privacy.
• Click Settings.
• Click Accounts Center.
• Click Personal details.
• Click Account ownership and control.
• Click Deactivation or deletion.
• Click the additional profile you want to delete or deactivate.
• Click Continue.
• Follow the instructions on the screen.

Reactivating your Facebook account

Deleting your Facebook is permanent, but deactivating it allows you to reactivate it whenever you want. Since there’s no moratorium on reactivation, you can do it whenever you’d like. We suggest checking your privacy settings after you’ve finished reactivating. 

If you’ve decided to reactivate your account, follow the steps below.

1. Click your profile picture.
2. Click Settings & Privacy.
3. Click Settings.
4. Click See more in Accounts Center.
5. Click Personal details.
6. Click Account ownership and control.
7. Click Reactivation.
8. Select the profile you want to reactivate.

How to delete or deactivate your Facebook account (PC or Mac)

If you’d prefer to delete your social media account from your laptop or desktop, browser instructions are below. Deleting your account from your laptop will also allow you to download any previously requested data onto your hard drive.

To delete your Facebook on a computer, follow one of the methods below.

Via Accounts Center

1. On the home screen, click your profile picture in the Facebook menu bar.
2. Select Settings & Privacy.
3. Click Settings.
4. Click See more in Accounts Center.
5. Click Account Settings.
6. Click Personal details.
7. Click Account ownership and control.
8. Click Deactivation or deletion.
9. Choose the account or profile you want to delete.
10. Select Delete Account.
11. Click Continue.
12. Follow the instructions to confirm.

Via Settings

1. Click your profile picture.
2. Select Settings & Privacy.
3. Click Settings.
4. Click Your Facebook information.
5. Click Deactivation and deletion.
6. Choose Delete account.
7. Click Continue to account deletion.
8. Click Delete account.
9. Enter your password.
10. Click Continue.

How to save your Facebook data

If you want to download and save your Facebook data before deleting your account, you’ll have to take a few extra steps. This will ensure you have access to everything you enjoy about the platform while getting rid of the things you don’t.

Here's how to save your data before deleting your Facebook account permanently.

Via Accounts Center

1. Click your profile picture.
2. Click Settings & Privacy.
3. Click Settings.
4. Click See more in Accounts Center.
5. Click Your information and permissions.
6. Click Download your information.
7. Click Download or transfer information.
8. Select the profiles you want to download.
9. Click Next.
10. Select How much information you want to download.
11. Click Next.
12. Choose where your data will be stored.
13. Click Next.
14. Click Submit request.

Via Settings

1. Click your profile picture.
2. Click Settings & Privacy.
3. Click Settings.
4. In the left column, click Download your information.
5. Click Continue.
6. Click Download or transfer information.
7. Select the profiles you want to download.
8. Click Next.
9. Select How much information you want to download.
10. Click Next.
11. Choose where your data will be stored.
12. Click Next.
13. Click Submit request.

Your download request is Pending. You’ll be notified when it’s ready. Then, you’ll have 4 days to download your data.

Download a copy of your information

Once your request is approved, your data becomes available for download.

1. Go to the Available downloads section of the Download your information tool.
2. Click Download.
3. Enter your password.
4. Tap Delete to delete your download or View past file requests to see your past download requests.

FAQs

Bottom line

There are plenty of reasons why you may want to delete your Facebook account. Some people want more time away from social media, while others may finally be fed up after Meta’s recent changes, including discontinuing fact-checking on posts. Privacy-wary users who do not want their data shared will likely move away from Meta apps to reduce the amount of data collected about them.

Keeping your information private is always a concern on the modern internet. Using a data broker removal service after deleting your Facebook is a smart way to clean up whatever information has been aggregated about you across social media and the web. Condensing your online footprint can reduce spam, scams, and even the possibility of identity theft. Who couldn’t use a little more protection online?