Delete Facebook account instantly and permanently in 2024

If you’re reading this, chances are you’re one of about three billion people worldwide who uses Facebook. Because Facebook is such an integral part of people’s lives, it can be a big decision to leave it behind.

Well, for those of you who are bold enough to sacrifice Facebook for a little more internet privacy, this tutorial will teach you how to permanently delete your Facebook account.

The difference between deleting and deactivating a Facebook account

Facebook offers the choice of deleting your account and deactivating it. Here’s what those terms mean.

What happens when you delete Facebook?

Once you’ve deleted your Facebook account, there is a grace period before it gets deleted by Facebook, but after that, you won’t be able to recover it or any of your account’s files like photos. Pages you control will also be deleted, unless you give someone else control of them beforehand.

If your goal is to ensure Facebook has as little data on you as possible, then deletion would be the way to go.

What happens when you deactivate Facebook?

If you only want to step away from Facebook temporarily, you should deactivate your account instead. Deactivating your account allows you to hide your account without deleting it and reactivate it at any time. Facebook users will no longer see your account, nor will you be able to update anything on it. Any pages you control will also be deactivated, unless you reassign control to someone else.

How to delete your Facebook account

Delete a Facebook account instantly on your computer

1. Go to https://www.facebook.com/help/delete_account
2. Select Delete account.

3. Then click Continue to Account Deletion.

4. Click Delete Account, enter your password and then click Continue.

And that’s it! You’ve deleted your Facebook account.

If it’s been less than 30 days since you initiated the deletion, you can cancel your deletion request simply by logging in to your account. After 30 days, your account and all your information will be permanently deleted, and you won’t be able to retrieve your information.  

How to delete a Facebook account on your phone

1. Open the Facebook app on your phone.
2. From your main profile, tap the three-line symbol in the bottom right of the screen.
3. Scroll down and tap Settings & Privacy, then tap Personal and Account Information.
4. Tap Account Ownership and Control. If you control Facebook pages, tap Profile Access and Control.
5. Tap Deactivation and Deletion.
6. Choose Delete Account and tap Continue to Account Deletion.
7. Follow the instructions on the screen to continue to account deletion.

How to deactivate your Facebook account

Deactivate a Facebook account on your computer

1. Go to https://www.facebook.com/help/delete_account
2. Select Deactivate account.

3. Click Continue to account deactivation.

4. You’ll be prompted to re-enter your password. Continue to follow the instructions, and your account will be deactivated.

How to deactivate a Facebook account on your phone

1. Open the Facebook app on your phone.
2. From your main profile, tap the three-line symbol in the bottom right of the screen.
3. Scroll down and tap Settings & Privacy, then tap Settings.
4. Tap Account Ownership and Control. If you control Facebook Pages, tap Profile Access and Control.
5. Tap Deactivation and Deletion.
6. Choose Deactivate Account and tap Continue to Account Deactivation.
7. Follow the instructions on the screen to continue to account deletion.

How to delete a Facebook account permanently without waiting 30 days

It’s not possible to have Facebook delete your account permanently without waiting out the 30-day grace period.

How to permanently delete your Facebook account without losing your photos

To save your files and photos before deleting your Facebook account, you can do one of the following:

• Transfer your photos to another service, such as Google Photos. To do so, go to https://www.facebook.com/tyi and follow the instructions.

• Download your Facebook data. See the next section for instructions.

How to download your Facebook data

Before deleting your Facebook account, you may want to first download the photos, messages, and other information you have in your account.

1. Go to https://www.facebook.com/dyi

2. Select the format, media quality, and date range of the information you would like to receive.

3. Choose which types of information you want to download (everything is selected by default), then scroll to the very bottom of the page and select Request a download.

After you’ve made a download request, it will appear as Pending in the Available Copies section of the Download Your Information tool. It may take several days for the information to be ready. Once Facebook has finished preparing your download request, it will send a notification letting you know it’s ready.

How to delete Facebook account permanently without password

You can’t delete your Facebook account without a password. If you have forgotten your password, you’ll just need to reset your password first.

Go to https://www.facebook.com/login and select “Forgot password?” This will allow you to have a reset link sent to your email address. Once you have a new password, you’ll be able to log in to your Facebook account and delete it.

How to delete a Facebook Page

Facebook Pages serve as community sites for people who share an interest, whether it’s surrounding celebrity fandom or a business promoting itself to customers. If you are an admin of a Page, you can delete the Page:

1. From your Feed, click Pages in the left menu.
2. Go to your Page and click the gear symbol, then Page Settings in the bottom left.
3. From General, click Remove Page.
4. Click Delete [Page name].
5. Click Delete Page and then click OK.

Facebook’s weak reputation on privacy

Facebook makes money off collecting user information and targeting them with ads. (To learn more about this, we highly recommend the documentary The Social Dilemma.)

In fact, when Apple wanted to introduce “Privacy Labels” in its App Store—which would clearly tell users what types of information apps collect before a download—Facebook resisted the move, presumably because the feature would expose just how much user data the company collects while allowing users to easily deny Facebook permission to use their data.

Additionally, Facebook has been prone to massive data leaks. This means your information has also been not safe.

What information Facebook collects:

According to Facebook’s privacy policy, the information it collects includes:

• Basic account information: your name, username, password, email address, and phone number
• Information surrounding content: Facebook collects information about the content you create and share while using their services. This also includes information in or about what you share and who you share it with. Similarly, if someone shares information about you (e.g. a photo of you), Facebook collects that too.
• Information surrounding connections: Facebook gathers information about the people and groups you are connected to. This includes any contact information you upload, sync, or import from a personal device.
• Payment information: if you complete a transaction through a service owned by Facebook, your payment information (e.g., card number, billing address, etc.) will be stored by Facebook.
• Links and cookies: Facebook may observe how you interact with links across their services and can use cookies to learn about your preferences. They will also monitor the device, OS, and web browser you use to access their services.

How Facebook uses your information

After collecting your information, Facebook may use it in the following ways:

• Advertising: Facebook will use the information gathered about you to show you targeted marking communications and promotions.
• Sharing to third parties: Facebook works with a range of third parties, and it’s possible that some of your data will be given to them. For example, if you play a game that uses a Facebook sign-in, the game developer will get access to information on your Facebook profile as well as data about your interactions with friends in the game.
• Personalize your experience: Based on your interactions on Facebook, the platform may suggest different events for you to attend or different people to connect with.

How to limit Facebook from tracking you

Facebook is notorious for tracking individuals’ online activity—even when they’re not using Facebook itself. There are a few ways to minimize it:

• Don’t use Facebook or Instagram (which is owned by Facebook); delete your accounts if you do. If you don’t want to do that, read on…
• Turn off tracking of Off-Facebook Activity. The settings are here.
• If you use iPhone or iPad, opt out of tracking for your Facebook app when prompted with the App Store’s App Tracking Transparency feature. You can also automatically opt out of tracking for all apps by going to Settings > Privacy > Tracking, then toggle off Allow Apps to Request to Track.
• Use a privacy-focused browser like Firefox, which blocks some tracking.
• Use ExpressVPN’s Threat Manager feature, which blocks companies from giving your data away to third parties on our blocklist.