Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg speaks at Facebook Inc’s annual F8 developers conference in San Jose, California, May 1, 2018.
Stephen Lam | Reuters
Facebook has given us plenty of reasons to want to delete our accounts.
As if the massive leaks of private information, its bizarre decisions to leave fake videos online and its huge role in the Russian interference during the 2016 election weren’t enough, there’s now a truly disgusting report about the working conditions of people who work to monitor the content Facebook users upload.
If you’ve decided enough is enough and you’re ready to leave Facebook, then I’ll show you how. It’s easier than ever, even since just two years ago when I wrote a similar guide on how to delete Facebook, when there wasn’t a clear way to simply delete your account. Plus, Facebook makes it easy to take everything with you before you go, so I’ll walk you through that, too.
Keep in mind that when you delete your Facebook account, you won’t be able to use Facebook Login for other apps you may have signed up for with your Facebook account, like Spotify or Pinterest. You may need to contact the apps and websites to recover those accounts. It will also delete your Facebook Messenger account, but your Instagram account will remain active.
Here’s how to delete your Facebook account.
Tell your friends you’re quitting Facebook
Write a message letting people know you’re leaving, and how to reach you in the future. Then they’ll know you didn’t just block or unfriend them.
Todd Haselton | CNBC
Beofre you go, consider your Facebook friends and family members. They might want to know you’re leaving, and you don’t want them to think you’ve dropped off the face of the planet or unfriended and blocked them. Consider making a post that says you’re quitting in a week, as one of my editors did, and how they can reach you moving forward.
Once you’ve sounded the alarm, here’s what to do.
Visit the Facebook homepage, tap the arrow on the far top-right, and select ‘Settings.’
Todd Haselton | CNBC
This is the main area where you can manage all sorts of things on your Facebook account.
Select “Your Facebook Information” on the top-left of the page.
Choose “Your Facebook Information” on the top-left of the page.
Select “Deactivation and Deletion.”
Choose the Deactivation and Deletion option
Todd Haselton | CNBC
Tap “Permanently Delete Account.”
Choose “Permanently Delete Account” on the bottom.
Todd Haselton | CNBC
Facebook warns that, when you delete your account, “you won’t be able to retrieve the content or information you’ve shared on Facebook. Your Messenger and all of your messages will also be deleted.”
There’s an option to deactivate your account if you think you might want to come back later. But if you’re sure you want to quit Facebook forever, tap “Continue to Account Deletion.”
Download your Facebook files
Download all of your Facebook stuff before you delete, if you need to.
Todd Haselton | CNBC
Facebook gives you a last chance to download a copy you’ve ever stored on the social network, including your photos, posts, location data and more.
- Tap “Download Info” to choose what you’d like to save, then choose “Create File” to get the folder. It can take a few days to get this if there’s a lot of stuff.
- Tap “Delete Account” if you don’t care about that, or create a file and come back to the Delete Account page when it’s ready.
Delete your Facebook account
Confirm one last time that you’re ready to delete your Facebook account.
Todd Haselton | CNBC
- Now tap “Delete Account” again.
- Log in with your Facebook password to confirm it’s really you.
- Accept the final warning, which says you have 30 days to reactivate your account and cancel the full deletion. But, after 30 days, the process begins and you won’t be able to retrieve anything.
- Tap “Delete Account” one last time.
That’s it
Now you’re done. You’ve deleted your Facebook account and, as long as you don’t try to log-in over the next 30 days, your account will be gone forever.
