Facebook continues to pile up the privacy scandals and users are turning their back on the service en masse. Do you want to delete Facebook or temporarily deactivate your account? We explain how to do this.
How to delete Facebook
533 million. So many Facebook users had their data exposed after a data breach at the company. It is yet another scandal in the history of Facebook. The company is frequently discredited for privacy scandals, data leaks, the spread of fake news and influencing political elections.
Many users are therefore done with it and decide to delete their account. Do you also want to delete your Facebook? Then follow these steps:
- Log in to Facebook with your login details;
- Tap the icon with the arrow down at the top right;
- Choose ‘Settings and privacy’ and go to ‘Settings’;
- Click on ‘Your Facebook’ data ‘in the left column and select’ Deactivate and delete ‘;
- Select ‘Delete account permanently’, then click on ‘Continue to delete account’;
- Press ‘Delete account’ and confirm your choice by pressing ‘Continue’.
You have now deleted your Facebook account. In the unlikely event that you want to go back, you can cancel the removal within 30 days. When you log in to Facebook during this cooling-off period, you will see a screen with the words ‘Cancel deletion’. Press to uninstall Facebook.
Facebook backup
The above method is final. This means that your profile, messages, photos and videos will be permanently deleted from Facebook. Do you want to keep these memories? Then we recommend that you make a backup of your profile. You do that in the Facebook settings screen:
- Tap the down arrow at the top right (or the three dashes on mobile) and go to ‘Settings and privacy’;
- Choose ‘Settings’, press ‘Your Facebook details’ in the left column;
- Click on ‘View’ next to ‘Download your data’ and tick what you want to download and, for example, in what quality you want to save photos and videos;
- Are you ready? Then tap on ‘Create file’.
You have now created a so-called ‘download request’. Facebook will now start collecting your personal information and will send you a notification when you can download the file. So wait a while to delete your Facebook until you have this file.
Also read: Opinion: If Facebook doesn’t protect its users, Apple will
Deactivate Facebook, do not delete it
Are you completely done with it, but is removal not necessary yet? Then you can also deactivate Facebook. A deactivated account is no longer visible to friends, but your personal information is retained. This way you can reactivate the profile at any time:
- Click the down arrow in the top right corner of Facebook;
- Select ‘Settings and privacy’ and go to ‘Settings’;
- Choose ‘Your Facebook data’ in the left column and select ‘Deactivate and delete’;
- Press ‘Deactivate account’ and follow the instructions on the screen.
You can also deactivate Facebook through the app. Follow roughly the same directions as above. If you want to use Facebook again later, you only have to open the app again. If you log in and agree to reactivation, you can view your profile and news feed again.
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