You whitethorn beryllium wondering really to delete your Facebook relationship now that fact-checking is nary longer considered important, and Meta’s changing its definition 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 the web type of Facebook, but you tin travel beautiful overmuch the aforesaid series connected the mobile app.
Download your archives
Your Facebook archives incorporate conscionable astir all of the 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 the upper-right corner.
- Go to Settings & Privacy > Settings.
- Click connected the Accounts Center container connected the left.
Screenshot: Meta
- Go to Your accusation and permissions connected the left, and past Download Your Information > Download aliases transportation information.
- You tin take to transportation accusation from your Facebook aliases Instagram relationship (or both).
- You now person a different choice. You tin prime Available information, which includes everything but information logs (Meta defines these arsenic “additional specifications we cod and shop that tin beryllium associated pinch you.)” Or you tin prime Specific types of information, which allows you to find precisely what you want to download, including those information logs.
- If you take the latter, you tin past prime from the assortment of information you’ve accumulated, including posts, friends, logged information, saved items and collections, etc. (You tin besides get the information logs, though Facebook warns it could return 15 days for them to show.) Click connected Select all — but beryllium alert you person to click it for each category. When you’re ready, prime Next.
Screenshot: Meta
- Choose Download to device aliases Transfer to destination. According to Meta, the emblematic download is astir 2.5GB.
- You’ll now beryllium capable to prime the day scope of the info you want to download (or you tin simply download each of it), the format (usually HTML aliases JSON), and the media value (low, medium, aliases high). Enter an email reside for a notification erstwhile the download is ready.
- Finally, prime Create files. You’ll person an email erstwhile your record is ready, and it will beryllium disposable for a fewer days. If you’ve been waiting a while and want to cognize the position of your download (or want to cancel it), spell backmost to the Download your information tab.
Screenshot: Meta
Delete your account
You’re fresh to delete your relationship erstwhile you’ve vanished downloading your archive.
- When you are ready, spell backmost to the Accounts Center and click connected Personal Details > Account ownership and power > Deactivation aliases deletion.
- Click Deactivation and Deletion.
- If you person some Facebook and Instagram accounts, you will beryllium asked to take one.
Screenshot: Meta
- If you only want to deactivate your relationship temporarily (maybe you dream CEO Mark Zuckerberg will alteration his mind?), you tin take to do so. Otherwise, prime Delete account and click Continue.
- You’ll beryllium informed of immoderate different accounts you person pinch Meta and fixed respective options to explicate why you’re leaving. Just support hitting Continue.
Screenshot: Meta
- You’ll spot an action to deactivate your relationship instead, aliases prevention the posts successful your archive, download your info, and reappraisal the 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 relationship will beryllium marked for termination and inaccessible to others utilizing Facebook.
Screenshot: Meta
Meta notes that it delays termination for a fewer days aft the petition has gone through. The deletion will beryllium canceled if you log backmost successful during that period. So don’t motion on, aliases you’ll beryllium forced to commencement the 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 besides says that copies of definite items for illustration log records will stay successful its database, but it notes that those are disassociated pinch individual identifiers.
If you’re really superior astir quitting thing associated pinch Meta, retrieve that the 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 let for changes successful the Facebook interface.