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How to Delete and Remove All Your Facebook Account Data

Facebook has over 2 billion monthly active users, making it one of the largest social media platforms in the world. While Facebook offers many benefits like connecting with friends and family, some users want more control over their privacy or want to disconnect from social media. If this sounds like you, deleting your Facebook account is an option.

This article will provide a step-by-step guide on how to permanently delete your Facebook account and remove all associated data.

Back Up Your Facebook Data

Before deleting your account, it’s important to back up any data you may want to keep, such as photos, posts, and messages. Here’s how:

  1. Go to Settings & Privacy > Settings
  2. Click “Your Facebook Information” on the left sidebar
  3. Click “Download Your Information”
  4. Select date range and media types to download
  5. Click “Create File”

Facebook will prepare an archive of your data and notify you via email when it’s ready to download (usually within a few hours). The file size can be large so save it to an external hard drive or cloud storage.

Delete Facebook App Data

If you primarily access Facebook via a mobile app, you’ll also want to delete the app data before deleting your account:

On iPhone:

  1. Go to Settings > Facebook
  2. Tap “Delete App”

On Android:

  1. Go to Settings > Apps
  2. Tap Facebook > Storage > Clear Data

Log Out of All Active Sessions

To ensure no one else can access your account during the deletion process:

  1. Go to Settings & Privacy > Settings > Security and Login
  2. Under “Where You’re Logged In”, log out of all active sessions

How to Permanently Delete Your Facebook Account

Ready to delete? Here are the steps:

  1. Go to Settings & Privacy > Settings > Your Facebook Information > Deactivation and Deletion
  2. Choose “Permanently Delete Account” and click “Continue to Account Deletion”
  3. Enter your password and click “Continue”
  4. Click “Delete Account” to confirm

Once you click delete, there is no going back. Facebook gives you 30 days to change your mind and reactivate your account before permanently deleting everything.

What Happens When You Delete Facebook

Here’s what to expect after clicking that delete button:

  • Immediately: Your profile, photos, posts, videos, and information will no longer be viewable to other users. You cannot use Facebook Messenger.
  • Within 30 days: You can still log back in to cancel deletion. Your account will be automatically restored.
  • After 30 days: All account data is permanently deleted by Facebook. You cannot retrieve any data or reuse the same account.
  • Within 90 days: Facebook removes all traces of your account from backups and logs. Your data cannot be recovered by anyone.

So in summary, deleting your Facebook account is permanent after 30 days. Be sure to back up anything you want to keep!

Should You Deactivate Instead?

If you want to take a break but aren’t ready to delete Facebook forever, deactivating your account is an option. Here’s how deactivation differs from deletion:

  • Your profile is hidden but all data remains stored by Facebook
  • You can easily reactivate your account by logging back in
  • Information you’ve shared with others like messages may still show up on their accounts

To deactivate:

  1. Go to Settings & Privacy > Settings > Your Facebook Information > Deactivation and Deletion
  2. Choose “Deactivate Account”

Your account will remain deactivated until you log back in with your credentials.

Protect Your Privacy After Deleting Facebook

Even after removing your Facebook account, your data may still exist in Facebook’s systems up to 90 days. Here are extra steps you can take to protect your privacy:

  • Use an ad/tracker blocker like uBlock Origin to prevent Facebook from tracking you across the web
  • Opt out of data collection: Use tools like Data Detox Kit to find and opt out of data brokers that sell your information
  • Enable two-factor authentication on all important accounts in case your credentials were compromised

Deleting Facebook is a great way to regain control over your privacy. Just be sure to back up your memories first and take precautions to prevent further tracking. The internet has a long memory, but this guide will help you remove your Facebook presence for good.

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