Are you considering deleting or deactivating your Facebook account? Whether you’re tired of encountering photos of your ex, find your uncle’s news feed intolerable, or have ceased using the platform altogether, there are straightforward methods to bid farewell to the social network.

Here, we will help you get the most out of your tech, whether you want to stop Facebook from draining your phone’s battery or are looking for ways to conserve your data. Here’s how to delete or deactivate your Facebook account. Both temporarily and permanently on iPhone and Android.

What’s the difference between deactivating and deleting your Facebook account?

If you’re contemplating leaving Facebook, it’s crucial to determine whether you prefer a temporary pause or a permanent removal of your account.

If you simply wish to take a break, consider temporarily deactivating your account. This action essentially hides your profile without eliminating any of your past posts. However, if you’re looking to bid farewell to Facebook indefinitely, you’ll need to delete your account.

Deactivating and deleting your Facebook account are two distinct actions with different outcomes:

1. Deactivating Your Account:

   • When you deactivate your Facebook account, your profile becomes temporarily inaccessible to other users.
   • Your name and profile picture may still appear in friends’ friends lists or messages, but your profile will be hidden from public view.
   • Deactivating allows you to take a break from Facebook without permanently losing your account and data.
   • You can reactivate your account at any time by logging back in, and your profile will be restored with all your friends, posts, and information intact.

2. Deleting Your Account:

   • Deleting your Facebook account permanently removes it from the platform.
   • Once deleted, you will no longer have access to your account, and all your data, including posts, photos, and friends, will be permanently erased.
   • Friends may still be able to see messages you’ve sent after your account has been deleted.
   • You will not be able to reactivate your account or retrieve any of your data after deletion.
   • If you use your Facebook account to log in to third-party apps, you won’t be able to log in to them or access your information.
   • Pages that only you control will be deleted. If you want your page to remain active, you can give someone else control.
   • It may take up to 30 days for Facebook to fully delete all of your information from its servers, during which time your account will be inaccessible to others but not permanently deleted.

How to download your Facebook account information

It’s a good idea to download all the material associated before you go through with a permanent deletion, you won’t have access once your account is gone. All you have to do is to request a copy of your information from Facebook, which can take up to a week before receiving it. Here’s what to do if you want to download your information:

1. Open the Facebook app on your device and log into your account
2. On the Home page, tap the three-lined menu button in the top-right corner of the screen (bottom-right corner of the screen for iOS)
3. Go to Settings & privacy> Settings.
4. Tap See more in Accounts Center>Your information and permissions.
5. Tap Download your information> Download or transfer information.
6. On the How much information do you want page, select an option:
   • Available information – These files will include information and activity for the accounts and profiles you selected but won’t include data logs (May take longer to Download).
   • Specific types of information – These files will include the information you choose. For example, you can download just your photos, messages, or data logs.
7. After selecting this option, tap the check box next to each data category you want to download, then tap Next.
8. Select where you want your information sent:
   • Download to device
   • Transfer to destination
   • If choosing this option, you will be able to choose a destination from the provided list, but they’ll have to verify their account to continue.
9. You will have the chance to adjust the following options (tap on the option to see available settings)
   •  Date range – Last week, last month, last 3 months, last 6 months, last year, last 3 years, all time, or custom.
   • Format – HTML or JSON (HTML allows you to easily view your data offline on their computer; JSON allows you to easily import data to another site)
   • Media quality – High (takes longer to download), Medium (default option), Low
10. Tap Create Files (if downloading to device) or Start transfer (if transferring to destination).
11. You’ll be returned to the Download your information page; while your download is being prepared, it will appear under the Current Activity tab.
12. Once the download is ready, tap Download.

How to temporarily deactivate your Facebook account on iPhone

1. Open the Facebook app on your iPhone and log in to your account.
2. On the Home page, tap the three-lined menu button in the bottom-right corner of the screen.
3. Go to Settings & Privacy, then tap Settings.
4. Tap Account ownership and control > Deactivation and deletion.
5. Select Deactivate account and tap Continue to Account Deactivation, then follow the instructions to complete the process.

How to permanently deactivate your Facebook account on iPhone

1. Open the Facebook app on your iPhone and log in to your account.
2. On the Home page, tap the three-lined menu button in the bottom-right corner of the screen.
3. Go to Settings & Privacy, then tap Settings.
4. Tap Account ownership and control > Deactivation and deletion.
5. Select Delete account and tap Continue to Account Deletion, then follow the instructions to delete your account permanently.

How to temporarily deactivate your Facebook account on Android

1. Open the Facebook app on your Android phone and log in to your account.
2. On the Home page, tap the three-lined menu button in the top-right corner of the screen.
3. Go to Settings & Privacy, then tap Settings.
4. Tap Account ownership and control >Deactivation and deletion.
5. Select Deactivate account and tap Continue to Account Deactivation, then follow the instructions to complete the process.

How to permanently deactivate your Facebook account on Android

1. Open the Facebook app on your device and log into your account
2. On the Home page, tap the three-lined menu button in the top-right corner of the screen (bottom-right corner of the screen for iOS)
3. Go to Settings & privacy> Settings
4. Tap See more in Accounts Center.
5. Tap Personal Details, then Account ownership and control.
6. Tap on Deactivation or deletion.
7. Select your profile.
8. Select either Deactivate account or Delete account> Continue. Follow the onscreen instructions.

How to reactivate your Facebook account

If you’ve temporarily deactivated your account, not deleted it. You can get it up and running again simply by following these steps:

1. Open the Facebook website or app.
2. Log in with the email address and password associated with your deactivated account. If you’ve forgotten your password, you can reset it using the “Forgot Password?” link on the login page.
3. Once logged in, you may see a message indicating that your account is deactivated. Follow the prompts to reactivate your account.
4. If you don’t see a reactivation prompt, try accessing your account settings. You can usually find this option by clicking on the downward-facing arrow in the top right corner of the Facebook homepage and selecting “Settings & Privacy” > “Settings.”
5. In the settings menu, navigate to the “Your Facebook Information” section.
6. Look for an option related to account deactivation or deletion. Depending on how you deactivated your account, you may find a button or link to reactivate it.
7. Click on the option to reactivate your account and follow any additional prompts or instructions provided by Facebook.
8. Once your account is successfully reactivated, you should be able to access your profile, posts, friends, and other account features as usual.

Note:

Keep in mind that it may take some time for your account to fully reactivate, and some features or settings may not be immediately available. Additionally, if you’ve permanently deleted your account, you won’t be able to reactivate it. In that case, you would need to create a new account if you wish to use Facebook again.