Facebook has become a ubiquitous part of many people’s online lives. They use it not just to connect with family and friends, but also to do business. You might have come to the point when you have had enough of the social media site and it’s time to disconnect. You also may be concerned about their poor privacy handling, or even want to get away from a stalker. To help you, we prepared a guide on how to delete Facebook thoroughly so that you can regain your privacy.
Preparing for Facebook account deletion
Since deleting Facebook is a permanent action, you should assess the things you could potentially lose. Aside from losing your connection to contacts on the platform, you might also not able to use certain online products. This is the case for the apps where you used your Facebook account to sign up with.
If you are using Facebook for business purposes, deleting your account will have a significant impact. In some cases, you will have to revise marketing plans for a different platform to recapture your audience.
One way to determine these losses is by deactivating your account first. Deactivation works like a temporary account suspension and differs from deletion in several ways:
- It’s reversible: You can reactivate your account anytime just by logging in.
- It doesn’t hide everything: While your profile will not visible, other information like your sent messages will still be.
- It doesn’t remove anything: Facebook saves all your account data upon deactivation, in case you want to return.
- Some apps will still be usable: The Messenger app is one of the Facebook-associated apps that you can still use after account deactivation.
By considering these effects and doing a one-week test, you will be able to determine which of the two options will better suit your privacy needs.
Disconnecting Facebook apps
A great thing about Facebook is that it lets you register with and use digital apps just by connecting them with your account. The Cambridge Analytica scandal highlighted how easy it is for app makers to access your personal information, which is a worrying prospect.
To find out which apps are connected to your Facebook account and determine those that have access to your account information:
- Go to your Settings by clicking on the Triangle icon (desktop) or the three horizontal bars (mobile) at the top of your homepage and selecting Settings.
- In the Settings menu, click on the Apps and Websites section.
- The screen will show all the apps that currently have permissions to access your Facebook data and those that have had their permissions expired or removed.
- Click on each app to view their full access details. You can control which information the app has access to by toggling each option.
Review all your connected apps and decide which ones you still want to use after deleting your account. Disconnect them by opening their access details and clicking Remove App. Facebook will notify you that, while this terminates data access, the app developer will still have all the information you previously shared.
For all the apps you plan on keeping after deleting Facebook, you need to either change their login settings or register for a new account. To ensure data privacy, contact the developers of the other apps you want to remove and request them to delete your information from their databases. Note that this will vary from just needing to click such options in your account to actually making an email request.
Downloading your Facebook data before deletion
Another important step in knowing how to delete Facebook completely is downloading your data. This is a good way to save a lot of content you want to keep, including statuses, published notes, and conversations. To download your data:
- 1. Open your account settings and go to the Your Facebook Information section.
- 2. Click on the Download Your Information option.
- 3. The next screen, you can select the specific information to download, as well as the format and the range.
- 4. Once you’ve selected your options, click the Create File button. Facebook will then send you a notification when your data file is ready and a download link.
When you open the data file, your information is organized in different categories. You might also be surprised to find certain information you are not aware the site is collecting from you.
Deleting your Facebook information manually
One thing to know is that you can manually delete some of your Facebook data before you delete your account. This ensures that your information will indeed not be available while you wait for the account deletion process to be completed. It also makes the process faster since the site will have less information to remove.
To start deleting sections of your Facebook profile, go back to the Your Facebook Information section and click on Activity Log.
This will bring you to the Filters page, which displays all your account content, organized into sections like:
- Posts
- Photos and Videos
- Likes and Reactions
- Comments
- Posts that you are tagged in
To delete the contents of each section, click the Pencil icon on the right side of each item and choose Delete/Remove. This is a tedious process since you have to remove items one by one, so plan out which sections you are going to clear.
Deleting your Facebook account
One thing you might find surprising when learning how to delete Facebook is that the actual deletion process is simple and straightforward. To start it, go back to the Your Facebook Information section in your settings and click Delete Your Account and Information option. Facebook will remind you that deletion is permanent and show how many posts and other content you have at this point.
Once you click the Delete button, the process isn’t immediate. Facebook says they can take up to 90 days to remove all your information from their servers. During that time, the site also has a 30-day grace period from the time of request when you can cancel it. You only need to log in again to your account and select the Cancel Deletion option.
Deleting Facebook-associated apps
While the deletion process will remove all your Facebook account information, there might still be some residual data in the other apps associated with Facebook that you are be using. The three most prominent of these apps are:
- Messenger
If you want to remove all traces of your Facebook usage, consider deleting these.
To delete Instagram you need to go to the site’s Delete Your Account page. Instagram will prompt you to choose a reason for deletion before it displays the Delete button. Since the app has a smaller scope, the deletion time is shorter. Note that you won’t be able to reuse your current username if you decide to create a new Instagram account in the future.
Reasons why you would want to delete Facebook
Data security is a major reason why people would want to disconnect from Facebook. This concern was sparked by the Cambridge Analytica controversy, where a third-party company was able to access 87 million users’ personal data without their knowledge. People worried that the site was not protecting their personal information as much as it should.
Beyond the issues raised by the controversy, and later Facebook data scandals, some people want to delete Facebook for fear of losing their online privacy. Since their profiles and posts are visible to the public, they feel that they are sharing too much of their personal lives. These posts are also searchable online, making it easier for others to track their activities.
Psychological reasons to delete Facebook
Users can also be overwhelmed by the constant stream of things to read on their news feed. Aside from their friends’ statuses, they have to keep up with the latest from the pages they follow. This is exacerbated by the urge to respond to the various things that show up on their feeds and messages they receive.
Facebook addiction has become a real issue of concern for some. Since the site makes it easy to connect and converse with others, users can become too engrossed in it. This could lead to other signs of addiction, like the ones described in this video.
These two extremes highlight the negative psychological impact of constantly being logged in to Facebook. To curb these, experts recommend people either find ways to lessen their use of the site, or move away from it entirely.
Boosting your online privacy
To ensure that Facebook and other companies won’t be able to track you again after account deletion, it’s a good idea to clear your computer’s browsing history and cookies. Most web browsers like Google Chrome and Firefox let you do this in a few clicks. Consider adding a tracker blocker to your computer for more protection.
Using virtual private networks (VPNs) when surfing the net is another way to safeguard yourself from online tracking. VPNs do this by hiding your computer’s IP address, making it harder for advertisers to pinpoint your location and determine your activity. These tools are surprisingly easy to set up and don’t cost a lot to purchase, making reading our reviews of the best VPNs a must.
Cleaning up your online presence
If you wish to be fully anonymous online, you should find out what information is present about you on the web first. One way to do this is by looking up your name on Google search. You will be able to see the sites you know you visited and those where you might have been mentioned without your knowledge. The search will also help you get a picture of your online reputation.
Another important step to do at this point is a reverse search of the images you own online. There are several reasons to do this, including:
- Finding where your images have been posted
- Determining whether they are being used without your permission
- Determining if your Facebook account was cloned by others
The simple tutorial below demonstrates how to quickly look up your images online.
If you do find indications of the last two issues, report the specific cases to the relevant sites, such as Facebook itself in the case of account cloning.
As a final precaution, use an email leak search tool like BreachAlarm to determine whether the one associated with your old Facebook account has been compromised. The tools are easy to use and will give you results in a few minutes. If the results show any positives, change your accounts’ login details to remain safe. You might also want to take advantage of the alert option these tools offer for detecting future breaches.
Regain your privacy by deleting Facebook
With all the security issues and health concerns surrounding it, knowing how to delete Facebook and clean up everything associated will help you get away from it easily. The important things to do if you decide that it’s time to quit are:
- Assess what you will lose: Check the information on your Facebook account and the apps connected to it to get an idea of how deleting it might impact you.
- Prepare for deletion: Download all your important account data and disconnect all the apps you previously used with Facebook to lessen the impact of deletion.
- Delete and clean up: Once you have started the deletion process, beef up your personal security by removing all traces of your Facebook presence and installing protection tools.
When you have finished these steps, don’t be complacent. Protecting your online presence is an ongoing process. Always be prepared to ensure that others won’t easily find you online.