How Can I Delete My Facebook Data

If you're looking to delete your Facebook account, y'all might have any number of reasons for pulling the plug. Perhaps you've noticed social media usagetaking a toll on your mental wellness. Perhaps yous have event with the platform for reports ofprivacy violations,political brawling,damaging misinformation and other content thatcould be harmful to teens. Or you lot could be trying to wipe your personal info from the net birthday. Either way, we'll walk you through how to go rid of your Facebook account for good.

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Information technology'due south of import to note that there's a difference between deleting your Facebook account and deactivating it. Deactivating your Facebook business relationship temporarily freezes it, which is useful if you want a cursory hiatus. But that does cipher to preventthe company from tracking your online action.

To fully divide from Facebook, deleting your business relationship is the only answer. Deleting information technology also severs ties to Facebook Messenger, the platform'southward chat app. (If you want to likewise get rid of Instagram and WhatsApp, which are Facebook properties, you'll have to do that separately.) We'll explain some things you'll demand to consider before going through the process, which requires time and patience.

1. Delete the Facebook app from your telephone and tablet

The first pace is to delete the app from your smartphone or tablet. Remember that deleting the Facebook app doesn't delete your business relationship -- yous can still access it from the browser and other apps might notwithstanding use Facebook as a login.

Removing the icon from your phone gets it out of sight and mind, just information technology doesn't do anything to your overall account. You'll need to make sure to do all these other steps or Facebook can nonetheless rails your online activity.

ii. Choose a messaging or social media culling

Privacy and security with Signal and WhatsApp Messaging — At that place are enough of messaging alternatives you can use to proceed in touch with others.
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Recollect, when you delete your Facebook account, your Messenger admission goes with information technology. Meaning, if you lot have people you frequently talk to on Messenger, yous'll need to let them know your plans and figure out another app or messaging service to employ to stay in touch.

Take the same approach with your Facebook friends in general. Mail service a status a few days before you programme on deleting your account, and ask that anyone who wants to keep in touch send a bulletin with their contact info.

Facebook also gives you the option to transfer your photos, videos, notes and posts to other sites like Google Photos and Dropbox. Here'show to transfer Facebook data.

three. Disconnect your Facebook business relationship from other apps and logins

Tertiary-political party developers such equally Spotify and DoorDash have long offered the option of using your Facebook account as a way to sign up and log in to their services. It's convenient because it keeps you from having to remember yet another password. That is, until you don't have a Facebook business relationship anymore.

You'll demand to address those outside accounts that rely on your Facebook info past logging in to each account and disconnecting it from your Facebook account.

To find a list of apps linked to your Facebook account:

Sign in to Facebook.
Go to Settings > Apps and websites.
If you're having trouble figuring out how to unlink your Facebook account from a service, contact the company's customer service department for help.

facebook-app-logins — Don't lose access to apps and services you use Facebook to log in to.
Screenshot by Jason Cipriani/CNET

Once that's done, request and download a re-create of all your Facebook data past post-obit these steps:

Log in to Facebook on your calculator.
Become to Settings > Your Facebook Information.
Click View next to Download Your Information.
Leave all of the boxes checked under the Your Information section.
Leave the date range to All of my data.
Go out the format set to HTML -- doing so puts your data in an easy-to-navigate format.
In order to salve high-resolution copies of photos and videos you've posted to Facebook, change the Media Quality drop-down from Medium to High.

Finally, clickCreate File. Facebook will then gather all of your information and transport y'all an electronic mail when it's prepare to be downloaded. It can take some fourth dimension for this to happen -- it's not an instant process.

Download all your Facebook information before doing anything else.
Screenshot by Katie Teague/CNET

iv. Finally, it'southward time to delete your Facebook business relationship

The concluding pace is to delete your account. To practice then, visit this page and sign in.

Facebook will give you a list of tasks and things to consider before deleting your account. For example, you'll exist advised to download all of your information, or if you're the sole admin of a Facebook Page, you lot'll be asked to grant another account admin privileges. Otherwise, the page will be deleted aslope your account.

All correct, y'all fix? Click Delete Business relationship, enter your password and click Keep. Finally, clickDelete Business relationship again and you're washed.

delete-facebook-account — Read through Facebook's concluding advice before deleting your business relationship.
Screenshot past Jason Cipriani/CNET

5. You lot have thirty days to change your mind about Facebook

Facebook will take upwardly to 90 days to delete all of your account data from its servers. For the start xxx days of that flow, you tin can still sign in and cancel your deletion request. Your account will be restored and information technology'll be similar you never left. For better or worse.

To cancel your deletion request, visit Facebook.com, log in to your account, and click the Cancel Deletion push.

And if you need any help with the emotional side of the breakdown, here are some tips on how toease the pain of Facebook separation. You can as well check out CNET's list of best countersign managers and VPN services of the twelvemonth.