Apps
How to Permanently Delete Your Facebook Account
In this guide we’ll show you how to delete your Facebook account once and for all. If you’re fed up with the endless drama and politics, have privacy concerns, or worried about the recent Facebook hack, we have you covered.
Years ago Facebook brought family, friends, interests, hobbies and more together in a way that the world had never experienced before. Here in 2018, it’s a different world. Now, the social network feels so negative and has too many immature kids and fake news. Well, that or your parents posting all day every day.
Don’t get me wrong, Facebook still has plenty to offer and is a great place for millions of people. It’s an easy way to stay connected with friends or family members that move far away, and it’s a great place to waste time on a commute or watch a funny video. However, all that may not be worth dealing with drama, rumors, negativity and stupid people. And don’t get me started on the many, many privacy concerns.
Here’s how to delete your Facebook account so you can live life, not just talk about it.
Believe it or not, you don’t need Facebook. We have texting, Snapchat, Instagram, video chat, or two legs to leave the house and physically see someone. Crazy, right? If you’re here we don’t need to convince you to delete your Facebook account, you already made up your mind. And good for you. Your phone will probably get substantially better battery life once you delete the app too.
The first thing we recommend is to simply clean out the clutter. By that we mean delete everything so they can’t use it after you’re gone. Sign out of any linked 3rd party apps, games, and remove any and all personal data. Do this in Settings > Apps > Apps, websites & plug-ins > disable the platform and start removing stuff.
Backup Your Facebook Account Data, Photos & More
If you want to keep your photos, information, memories and more you can download a backup of your account.
- On Facebook go to Settings
- Under “General Account Settings” click on Your Facebook Information
- Then click View next to any category to see and save the data
Deleting Your Facebook Account on Your Computer
Before we proceed it’s worth mentioning that you can “deactivate” your Facebook instead of completely deleting everything. That way it disappears to almost everyone, but later you can sign in and continue right where you left off. That’s what Facebook wants, and will steer you that direction so they can keep your information. In fact, there is no easy way to delete your account and they only give you the option to deactivate it until you dig deeper.
If you want to proper delete your Facebook account here’s how: (As of October 2018)
Instructions
- Visit the Facebook website or app and click on the small downward-facing arrow in the upper-right corner of the web page. From there, click on Settings.
- There will be a list of options and it changes constantly. As of right now, under General click on Your Facebook Information or choose the Your Information tab from the left side
- On the Your Facebook Information page, you’ll see several choices (shown below), we want the last one
- Where it says Delete Your Account and Information click on View
- Instead of seeing a screen where Facebook tries to convince you to stay, and that friends will miss you (like before) we now have a straightforward page for deactivation, downloading info, or deletion.
- Facebook gives you one last chance to Download Your Info
- Once you save everything simply click the big blue Delete Account button
- Enter your password, submit the captcha and hit Confirm
From here Facebook probably gives you one more big Confirm button, or another chance to ask if you’re sure you want to delete your account. They might even show you what you’ll be missing and ask you for a reason why you’re leaving.
As a reminder: Everything gets deleted and you won’t be able to use FB Messenger or sign into apps and games where Facebook is your only method to log-in. So we recommend changing login details for those apps first. Here’s more information about what happens when you delete your account.
Read: How to Stop Facebook From Accessing Call Logs, Texts & Contacts
And finally, you didn’t think Zuckerberg would let you go that easy, right? You actually have 30 days to change your mind and cancel the deletion. Simply login to Facebook within 30 days and click cancel. Previously you had 90 days to cancel but now it’s only 30.
Deleting Your Facebook Account on Mobile
The process for deleting your Facebook account from your iPhone, Android or mobile device is similar to how you would do it on a computer, but there are slight changes in the menus that you’ll be navigating.
- Open up the Facebook app on your mobile device, and tap on the 3-lines More tab in the upper or lower right corner
- Scroll all the way down and tap on Settings & Privacy, then tap on Settings.
- Then, scroll down to Your Facebook Information and tap on Account Ownership & Control
- Again, Facebook gives you the option to Download Your Information from the mobile app, so do that first if you’d like to save anything.
- Next, click on Deactivation and Deletion
- Select Delete Account and click the big blue Continue to Account Deletion button
- Facebook will ask for your password and some sort of security measure, and then have you tap Confirm to delete your account.
- Again, you’ll probably see some sort of questions or a survey about why you’re leaving. Do what you want in this category, then tap Delete, Confirm, OK, or whatever they ask of you.
And we’re all done. You’ve successfully deleted your Facebook account. Now, go out and enjoy the world. Take a vacation, soak it up, and make memories instead of trying to capture them to share on social media.
In closing, just like on a computer, you can save your Facebook account if you change your mind within 30 days. Simply log in as usual and follow the prompts to cancel your account deletion.
J. Patrick Hefner (@ZuneTracks)
07/16/2014 at 2:23 pm
actually, this is where you need to go if you want to DELETE your Facebook account. https://www.facebook.com/help/delete_account and once you do, you can’t sign back in for 14 days, or your deletion is stopped.
William Tookwaro
07/28/2014 at 5:12 am
Can you please delete William Ogenrubanga Facebook account?
Daniel Hartwell
10/09/2016 at 4:43 pm
Its now under security-deactivate-10th oct 2016 :)
Gordon Bohl
03/04/2017 at 7:45 am
My android does display a delete option,what can I do?
Faruk
05/09/2017 at 11:20 pm
Excellent Guide Delete Facebook account. Thanks Admin sharing Delete method Facebook account
Alex Moris
05/09/2017 at 11:22 pm
Thanks For Admin. Check this blog Aponw.com
zahavatyla
02/21/2018 at 11:55 pm
only wanted to delete fb from android phone but the instructions did not work. did not want to delete it from my pc or tablet — the instructions seem to imply a total deletion from all devices. not satisfactory.
Ha
05/27/2018 at 3:46 am
What he said
Endrit B.
10/11/2018 at 6:01 am
very useful guide for me, thanks for sharing!
Carmel
12/19/2018 at 1:24 pm
I have a Facebook Account on my Android phone (quite separate from the one on my laptop) which I have never used.I cannot find an App for it on my phone – checked everywhere.
Any help would be appreciated, as I get about 10 friend requests a day.