How to Deactivate Your Facebook Account

Facebook is a great place to interact with friends and family. However, sometimes, you might want to unplug from social media and deactivate your accounts. Fortunately, you can permanently close your Facebook account by following a few simple steps.

The article below will explain how to deactivate your Facebook account.

How to Deactivate Your Facebook Account Using the Meta Accounts Center

You can use the Meta Account Center to delete or deactivate your Facebook account quickly.

1. Log into your Facebook account on your device.
2. Click on your profile picture located in the top-right corner.
3. Go to Settings & privacy. Then select Settings.
   
4. Click on Accounts Center from the top left side of the settings menu.
   
5. Select Personal details from under Account settings.
6. Select Account ownership and control.
7. Click on the Deactivation or deletion option from the dialog box that appears.
8. Hover over and click on the profile that you’d like to deactivate.
9. Select the option to deactivate your account.
   
10. Choose to continue, and after that, follow the steps for confirmation.

If you’re unsure whether to deactivate your account, you can consider making your Facebook profile private. This will hide your profile while still giving you the flexibility to browse the social media platform. 

How to Deactivate Your Facebook Account Using the Old Method

Follow these steps if you’re still using the older Facebook version:

1. Go to your profile picture at the top-right corner of Facebook.
2. Click the Settings & privacy option, and then click the Settings option.
3. Select Privacy on the left. Then click the option for your information on Facebook.
4. Select the option to deactivate or delete your account.
   
5. Click on Deactivate Account, then select the option to continue to deactivate, and follow the instructions to confirm.
   

What to Know About Deactivating Your Facebook Account

Facebook gives you two options to disconnect from the platform. You can deactivate your account, which is temporary. Or, you can delete your account permanently.

The following sections will cover what happens when you deactivate your Facebook account.

Facebook Account and Facebook Page Deactivation

• You can reactivate the account whenever you choose to.
• Until your Facebook account is reactivated, you cannot use it to access your Oculus products.
• People can’t see your timeline, nor will they be able to search for your profile.
• There will be some information that’ll remain visible, like the messages you sent.
• Your friends can still see your name on their friends list.
• If you are a Facebook page’s sole owner or admin, it gets deactivated, too. People won’t be able to see your page or search for it. If you’d still like your page to be visible after deactivating your account, you’ll need to give someone else full control of it. This way, your account will be deactivated, but not your page. If you’re the only person with access to the page, you can reactivate the page after re-enabling your Facebook account.
• If you’re logged into Messenger and deactivate your Facebook account, the app will remain active.

Facebook Messenger

Here’s what happens to Facebook Messenger when you temporarily deactivate your account.

• You can still chat with your Facebook friends on Messenger.
• Your display picture on Facebook will remain visible for your friends to see in your chats on Messenger.
• Other Facebook users can find your account in the Messenger app and message you.

Fortunately, you can retrieve your Facebook Messages when you reactivate your account. But you can also take steps to recover deleted Facebook messages.

Facebook Account Deletion

If you no longer want your Facebook account, you can permanently delete it. Of course, it’s best to understand what happens to your account when you do. Here’s what happens when you permanently delete your Facebook account:

• You can’t regain access at all once you’ve deleted your account.
• Facebook delays account deletion for a few days after you’ve chosen to delete it. If you log back into your account during this time, the deletion request is automatically canceled. If you still want to delete your account, you must repeat the steps to ensure deletion.
• Information like your message history will still be available to your friends after you’ve deleted your account, as this information isn’t stored in your account.
• If you utilize your Facebook account to log into your Oculus account, then deleting your Facebook account also deletes your Oculus information. This information includes app achievements, purchases, and existing store credits.

You can delete your Facebook account without its password, but this process involves recovering the password first. 

Leaving Facebook Behind

It’s easy to see that it’s important to live a healthy and balanced online life so that you don’t experience burnout. Deactivating your Facebook account can be advantageous to maintain this balance. Fortunately, the process is relatively straightforward, and you can always reactivate your account if and when you feel ready to dive back into the cut-and-thrust world of social media again.

FAQs

How do I reactivate my account?

Once your account is deactivated, you’ll be able to reactivate it whenever you wish. You’ll have to log back into your Facebook account or by using your account information for Facebook to log in elsewhere. To reactivate, you’ll need to have the information to the mobile number or the email address that’s saved on your login information in order to conclude reactivation.

What is the difference between deactivating and deleting a Facebook account?

Deactivating a Facebook account is temporary. You can reactivate it later and pick up where you left off. Deleting a Facebook account, on the other hand, means you’re permanently closing your account and Facebook will remove all of your Facebook data in 30 days.