How to delete facebook account permanently immediately

While Facebook may not want you to leave the social network, you can still delete your account permanently and immediately in 2021. The difference between deactivating your account and deleting is that you will no longer be able to access your content or information you’ve shared on the social network. It will also delete Messenger and all of your messages, along with ensuring that you won’t be able to access your Oculus information, too.

If you still want to go ahead with wiping your social media slate clean, here’s how to delete your account in 2021:

How to delete your Facebook account permanently and immediately

In order to delete your Facebook account, you must follow these easy steps:

1. Go to Facebook
2. Go to Settings and Privacy
3. Go to Settings
4. Go to Your Facebook Information
5. Select Deactivation and deletion

After following these steps, you can then ‘Continue to Account Deactivation.’ From there, your account will be wiped from Facebook, meaning you won’t be able to access that account again.

Does Facebook keep your information after you’ve deleted it?

Many people seek to delete their Facebook account over privacy concerns, though CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s comments on this matter haven’t been heartening. Back in 2018’s Facebook senate hearing, the billionaire could not give a definitive answer on how long the social network stores user data after deletion.

Though Zuckerberg added that the company tries “to delete [account information] as quickly as is reasonable,” there is no guaranteed date on how long Facebook will store your user data. It’ll eventually be removed, but unfortunately, users won’t get to know when.

How to delete your Facebook account on mobile (iPhone and Android)

Deleting your Facebook account on its mobile app is slightly different to deleting it on computer, but still just as simple.

Follow these steps to delete your account on iPhone, Android, and more mobile phones:

1. Go to the Facebook app
2. Click the hamburger button (the three parallel horizontal lines)
3. Select Settings
4. Select Settings and Privacy
5. Go to Your Facebook Information
6. Select Account Ownership and Control
7. Select Deactivation and deletion, then delete account

By following these steps, you will be able to delete your Facebook account both on the computer version of the social network and on its mobile app.

For more Facebook updates this year, check out how you can copy and paste on the site in 2021. You can also check out our guide on how to delete Snapchat if you’re looking to clean up more of your apps, or find out if Signal stores your user data if you’re concerned about your online privacy with the increasingly popular app.

When you stop using a social networking profile or website, it is a good idea to deactivate or delete your account. This will mean that your content is no longer visible online and should not be searchable online. It will also remove the risk of these accounts being used by others or hacked without you knowing.

This blog gives site specific guidance about how to deactivate or delete your accounts, and what these options mean.

Facebook

On Facebook you have the options of either deactivating and deleting your account.

If you deactivate your account:

• You can reactivate it whenever you want. This will mean you can access your photos, videos, friends and groups again.
• People can’t see your timeline or find your account in a search unless you reactivate the account.
• Some things may remain visible (for example: private messages you have sent).
• You can reactivate your account at any time by logging back into Facebook or by using your Facebook account to log in somewhere else. You’ll need to have access to the email or mobile number you use to log in to complete the reactivation.

To deactivate your account:

1. Click in the top right of Facebook.
2. Select Settings & Privacy > Settings.
3. Click Your Facebook Information in the left column.
4. Click Deactivation and Deletion.
5. 5. Choose Deactivate Account, then Continue to Account Deactivation and follow the instructions to confirm.

When Your Facebook account is deactivated, but you still have Messenger:

• You can still chat with friends on Messenger.
• Your Facebook profile picture will still be visible in your conversations on Messenger.
• Other people can search for you to send you a message within Messanger.

If you delete your account:

• You won’t be able to reactivate your account.
• You will have 30 days to cancel your account deletion, after this you won’t be able to access your account or retrieve any information from it.
• Your profile, photos, videos and everything else you’ve added will be permanently deleted.
• You’ll no longer be able to use Facebook Messenger.
• You won’t be able to use your Facebook login for other apps you may have signed up for with your Facebook account, like Spotify or Instagram. You may need to contact the apps and websites to recover those accounts.
• Some information, like messages you sent to friends, may still be visible to them after you delete your account. Copies of messages you have sent are stored in your friends’ inboxes.

To delete your account:

1. Click in the top right of Facebook.
2. Select Settings & Privacy > Settings.
3. Click Your Facebook Information in the left column.
4. Click Deactivation and Deletion.
5. Choose Permanently Delete Account then click Continue to Account Deletion.
6. Click Delete Account, enter your password and then click Continue.

Instagram

You can either temporarily disable your account or permanently delete it.

If you temporarily disable your account:

• Your profile, photos, comments and likes will be hidden.
• You can reactivate your account by logging back in.

To temporarily disable your account:

1. Log into instagram.com from a mobile browser or computer. You can’t temporarily disable your account from within the Instagram app.
2. Tap or click your profile picture in the top right and select Profile, then select Edit Profile.
3. Scroll down, then tap or click Temporarily disable my account in the bottom right.
4. Select an option from the drop-down menu next to Why are you disabling your account? and re-enter your password. The option to disable your account will only appear after you’ve selected a reason from the menu and entered your password.
5. Tap or click Temporarily Disable Account.

If you delete your account:

• Your account, profile, photos, videos, comments, likes and followers will be permanently removed.
• You can’t sign up again with the same username or add that username to another account.
• Deleted accounts cannot be reactivated.

To delete your account:

1. Go to the Delete Your Account page from a mobile browser or computer. If you’re not logged into Instagram on the web, you’ll be asked to log in first (you cannot delete your account from within the Instagram app).
2. Select an option from the drop-down menu next to Why are you deleting your account? and re-enter your password. The option to permanently delete your account will only appear after you’ve selected a reason from the menu.
3. Click or tap Permanently delete my account.

Twitter

On Twitter, you deactivate your account and it deletes permanently after 30 days. During this time your account is deactivated. Deactivation is not available on mobile devices and must be done by accessing twitter.com on the web.

Before you deactivate your account, you should know:

• You may reactivate your account at any time during these 30 days by logging in to it. If you don’t log in/reactivate for 30 days, your account will be permanently deleted.
• You do not need to deactivate your account to change your username or email address; you can change these at any time in your account settings.
• If you want to use the same username or email address to make a new account, you need to do so before deactivating. For how to do this, follow the steps on: How to make your username or email address available for re-use before deactivating your account.

To deactivate:

1. Sign in to twitter.com on the web.
2. Click on Settings and privacy from the drop-down menu under your profile icon.
3. From the Account tab, click on Deactivate your account at the bottom of the page.
4. Read the account deactivation information, then click Deactivate @username.
5. Enter your password when prompted and confirm that you want to proceed by clicking the Deactivate account button.

Snapchat

You are only able to permanently delete your account on Snapchat. It takes 30 days for the deletion to take place, in which time your account will be deactivated.

During these 30 days, your friends will not be able to contact or interact with you on Snapchat. After 30 days, your account will be permanently deleted, including your friends, Snaps, Chats and Stories. Your username will no longer be available.

To delete your account:

1. Visit this page from any browser. It won’t work from the Snapchat App.
2. Fill in the username and password for the account you want to delete.
3. Select Login and enter the same information again.
4. Select Delete my Account at the bottom.

If you change your mind in the 30 days after deleting your account you can log back into Snapchat like you normally would using your username and password. This will reactivate your account and stop your account being deleted.

TikTok

You are only able to permanently delete your account on TikTok. This is permanent and irreversible. A deleted account can’t be recovered at any point.

If you delete your account:

• You can’t use the account to log in to TikTok.
• You’ll lose access to the videos you’ve posted.
• You’ll lose access to purchased items and won’t be able to receive a refund.
• Shared information, such as chat messages, may still be visible to others.

To delete your account:

1. Go to your Profile tab.
2. Tap the Settings icon in the top right corner.
3. Tap Manage my Account > Delete Account.
4. Follow the steps in the app to delete your account.

Further resources

Our Social Media Checklists provide all the information you need to know about deactivating or deleting accounts and you can download copies here.

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