Have you ever wanted to leave Facebook for good? Temporarily perhaps? Here, I will teach you how to delete your Facebook and Messenger permanently or deactivate it for a few weeks.
At a time when Facebook has been mishandling its user data, you may feel the need to delete your account on the social media site. The social media site has recently revealed that up to 87 million Facebook users had their information improperly accessed.
Cambridge Analytica was able to harvest data belonging to millions of Facebook users to determine and influence how they would vote during US President Donald Trump’s campaign. Since then, the scandal has poorly affected Facebook’s stock price and trust with its users.
Deactivating vs. Deleting
Facebook allows its users to disable or delete their accounts. Before you can cancel your account, here are the differences and details you must know about deactivating and deleting:
Deleting your account
Deleting your Facebook account removes the account from public view, along with anything you have uploaded or posted to its servers.
Since some data like messages are not stored in your account, your friends may still be able to access them. When you delete your Facebook account, you cannot retrieve access once it is removed on the social media site.
It is important to note that some posts and data just cannot be deleted entirely.
Instructions to delete your Facebook Account
- Login to your Facebook account with your username and password
- Head to Facebook’s delete account page
- Confirm that you want to delete your Facebook account and data
To delete your Facebook account, you must submit a form to Facebook. Upon submission, you will acknowledge that Facebook is deleting your account for you, and you will not be able to retrieve or reactivate the account.
Before deleting your account, make sure to download your information from Facebook.
According to Facebook, it would take up to 90 days from the start of the deletion process to delete all your posts, including status updates, photos, and other data stored in the backup systems. While Facebook removes your account information, it will be inaccessible to other people using the website.
If you are linked to Facebook apps, these will also be deleted permanently.
Also read how you can download Facebook videos here
Deactivating your account
Deactivating your Facebook account allows you to hide your posts, timeline, and profile from public view. You can reactivate your account whenever you prefer.
However, some content such as messages may still be visible to friends.
When a Facebook account is deactivated:
- Information, such as messages you have sent to friends, can still be visible.
- No one else will see your profile.
- Group or Page admins would still be able to see your name with posts and comments.
- Your friends can still see your name in their friends’ list. Even if your account is deleted, you will only be visible to your friends and only from their own friend’s list.
- Since most of the information is still public, you must only deactivate your Facebook account if it’s for a temporary break from the social media site or if you are uncertain.
How to deactivate your Facebook account:
1. Tap the 
at the top right of your Facebook page
2. Click Settings then tap on Your Facebook Information at the left column
3. Click on Deactivation and Deletion
4. Select Deactivate Account, then click on Continue to Account Deactivation and follow featured instructions to confirm.
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You can still use Messenger with a deactivated Facebook account.
Deactivating your Facebook account does not entirely delete it. Once you deactivate your account, Facebook saves your photos, information, and settings in case you choose to reactivate your account.
You will not lose your data; it is simply hidden. However, it is also possible to permanently delete your account with no chance of recovery.
You can still use Messenger and chat with friends, and your Facebook profile will always be accessible in your conversations in Messenger. Other people will also be able to search for you and send you messages too.
Instructions to Deactivate Facebook Messenger
Messenger can only be deactivated if you have also deactivated your Facebook account and here are the steps to do so:
- Open Messenger
- Tap on your profile picture at the top left corner
- Click Privacy & Terms
- Tap Deactivate Messenger
- Enter your password and click Continue
- Click Deactivate
Can People Still See you if you Deactivate your Facebook account?
People can search for you, but your profile will not show up in the search.
Your timeline will not be seen, along with your list of “likes.”
Once you deactivate your account, that would happen immediately.
Likewise, if you delete your Facebook account, your account will permanently vanish. However, the full deletion will not happen for a few days because the social media site provides you some leeway.
If you log back in shortly right after deactivating, the account will be automatically reactivated.
Otherwise, it would take 90 days for the full deletion of information from Facebook servers. Some data or information will still exist, but any personal identifiers shall vanish. Your account will become static.
Will my Comments Vanish once I Deactivate Facebook?
Your timeline posts will not be visible publicly, and your friends will not see them either. Your profile will disappear but not the comments you have made to others.
How to Identify if a Person Deactivated their Facebook account
If you would like to know why someone has been oddly quiet on Facebook, there are three possibilities to consider: First is they may simply be busy. Second is the possibility that they have blocked you.
But before discussing that, question if they have gotten rid of their entire account. With this, how would you know if someone blocked you or someone from your friends’ list deactivated Facebook account?
Head to a mutual friend’s profile and see if the person in question is there in the friends’ list. With finding yourself in that list, you were likely blocked.
You can check on Messenger, too; there could also be a technical issue. You cannot send a message if you have been blocked, the person’s profile picture will be replaced by any comments they have posted in your timeline.
What Happens to Your Tagged Photos Upon Deactivation
Since Facebook has saved your data for your prospective reactivation, tags in photos will still exist. However, these tags will be converted to plain text. No one will be able to link those photos as a profile.
Your profile will not be visible to anyone. The visibility of your account also applies to any other post you may be tagged in.
Once you reactivate your Facebook account, the tags will resurface. This rule applies the same after deletion; tickets will become plain text.
If you decide to open a new account, the original tags will not automatically link to your name anymore. Consider the people with the same name as you.
At the moment you have deleted your profile and decided to reactivate, you will need to ask your contacts to remove original tags and update them to your new profile.
How to Reactivate your Facebook account
If you would like to return to Facebook after deactivating your account, you can reactivate it anytime by logging in to Facebook or by using your account to log in somewhere else.
To reactivate your Facebook, you will need to access the mobile number or email you use to log in to complete reactivation.
What’s Next?
Ever since the grilling in Capitol Hills, Facebook has come under controversy for allowing politicians’ presence in ads during a time when Twitter has decided to ban all political advertising.
Zuckerberg continuously speaks out about Facebook’s determination to its policy to uphold encryption and free expression. His words in Utah came days later and said on Facebook’s recent earnings determine that his focus for the upcoming decade is not to be liked but simply understood.
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