You landed on this page because you might be thinking of deleting or deactivating your Facebook account. Deactivate and Delete of FB profile will help you get rid of this social network. But, both are different actions and you should not be confused. Here is the difference between them:
Difference between Deactivate and Delete of Facebook Account
- Deactivate – It is temporary
- Delete – It is permanent
So, if you wish not to use Facebook for a few days/weeks/months you can choose the deactivate option. All your profile information and uploads will be there, but not accessible. On the other hand, deleting the Facebook account can’t be undone or profile can’t be restored. All your information, Friends list, Photos & Videos will be gone forever.
However, it is suggested to keep a backup of all your data from your Facebook account. You can download a copy of your Facebook profile data.
Facebook how to deactivate
Here are the steps to deactivate facebook account temporarily:
- Click Here.
- Enter your login credentials and click on the login button.
- You can download your information and media files to keep a back up before deactivating facebook profile. To download click on the “Download Your Information” link.
- To deactivate Facebook account click on the “Deactivation and Deletion” link.
- On the next page select the ” Deactivate Account ” link and click on the “Continue to Account Deactivation” button.
- Now follow the instructions to continue.
How to Deactivate Facebook on Mobile Phone / App
Steps for Android and iPhone App users:
On your Android phone open the Facebook App and tap on the menu button (located on the top right corner).
Find and tap on the “Settings & Privacy”
Then tap on “Settings“
Now select the “Personal Information” and then “Manage Account“.
You will find the option to deactivate the account here. Tap on “Deactivate” and follow the instruction to complete the process.
For the Mobile Phone Browser:
- Find and tap the menu on the top right corner.
- Tap on “Settings”
- Scroll down and tap on “Account Ownership and Control”
- Tap “Deactivation and Deletion” and select “Deactivate Account”.
- Now tap “Continue to Account Deactivation” and follow the information to deactivate your FB profile.
If you are using the Facebook Lite App
Menu > Settings > Personal Information > Manage account > Deactivate
And follow the instructions to continue.
What happens when your account is deactivated?
According to Facebook, when your account is deactivated, “no one else can see your profile. Some information like messages you sent to friends, may still be visible. Your name can be visible to only your friends in their friend’s list. If you had joined any group, the admin may be able to see your name along with your posts and comments.”
How to deactivate facebook but keep messenger
- So when you need the messenger but not the Facebook, you can deactivate the Facebook account by using the above-given steps.
- Deactivating The FB profile doesn’t mean that your messenger account will be deactivated.
- If you need to deactivate the facebook messenger too, you may do it through the Messenger App.
- Please find below what Facebook says about this:
How to reactivate Facebook account?
As you have deactivated the Facebook account (which is temporary in nature) you can reactivate and use this in the future.
- Just login to your Facebook from Browser or App and you are done.
- Facebook automatically reactivates your account.
- All your data should be there as Facebook saves all the data of deactivated account.
- You need your old email id or phone number to login.
- If you forgot your password, you may reset it and make a new password.
- If you don’t have the access to the old email or phone number you can also reactivate this by following up the guidelines by Facebook
Deactivate Facebook permanently (Delete Facebook Account)
Warning: If you are going to do this, you won’t be able to access your Facebook and reactivate it in the future. All will be gone.
What happens when you delete facebook account permanently?
- You will no longer access your profile
- All your photos, posts, videos will also be deleted completely and you won’t be able to reactivate your FB profile.
- Facebook Messenger will not work. This will be deleted along with your profile.
- You will not be able to login to other web services or apps though Facebook login(that you were using previously).
Steps to delete Facebook account permanently on the web browser
- Go to facebook.com/settings
- On the left side click on – Your Facebook Information
- Click “Deactivation and Deletion“.
- On the next page select “Permanently Delete Account” and click on “Continue to Account Deletion” button.
- Follow the steps and your Facebook account will be deleted forever.
How to delete facebook account permanently from mobile/app?
For Android /iPhone App users:
- Tap the Menu icon on the top right corner.
- Find and tap “Settings & Privacy“.
- Now tap on “Settings“.
- Find and tap on “Account Ownership and Control“.
- Tap “Deactivation and Deletion“.
- Select “Delete Account” and tap “Continue to Account Deletion”.
- Also, find and tap “Delete Account“.
- You need to provide your FB Password and tap “Continue” and then “Delete Account“.
For Mobile Browser Users:
- Tap on Menu icon (top right corner).
- Find and tap “Settings.”
- Now find and tap on “Delete Your Account and Information“
- You need to provide your facebook password and tap “Submit“
Deleting FB account on Facebook Lite App
- Tap on the 3 horizontal lines (menu icon) located on the top right corner.
- Find and tap on “Settings”.
- Find and tap on “Account Ownership and Control“.
- Tap “Deactivation and Deletion“.
- Select “Delete Account” and tap “Continue”.
- follow the instructions and proceed.
How Can I cancel my FB account deletion?
You can cancel your deletion request. You will have 30 days to apply for cancelling the deletion request (from the date you have requested to delete your FB account permanently).
- Login to your Facebook account by using your credentials.
- Click on “Cancel Deletion“
Using Messenger after permanently deleting Facebook Profile:
No, you can’t use Facebook Messenger, if you have deleted your Facebook profile permanently. If you wish to chat/talk with friends by using messenger but don’t want to use Facebook, you should go with deactivating Facebook only and you can use Facebook Messenger without a Facebook account
Can I Delete Messenger but not the Facebook Profile?
No, this may not be possible. But still, you can hide (go offline) from others. In that way, none of your friends will know if you are online or not.