Has the Facebook crash of 2021 given you a taste of the social media-free life you’ve always dreamed of? You are not alone. According to Google Trends data, searches for "how to delete Facebook" over the past week peaked at 6 p.m. ET on October 4, around the same time Facebook-owned apps like Instagram, WhatsApp and Messenger came back online.
The outage also occurred during a congressional hearing in which a former employee testified that the social media giant's products "harm children, stoke division and weaken our democracy," CNN reported. Whistleblower claims to Congress and explosive Wall Street Journal investigation show Facebook executives knew about problems posed by their app but failed to take appropriate action to fix them (Later on October 5, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg issued a statement on his personal account denying the whistleblower’s description of the company and saying: "Learn about the latest Internet regulations."
Recent events aside, if you're looking for reasons to delete your Facebook account, you don't need to search too hard. But if you've ever considered deleting your Facebook profile, you might be wondering what happens to your Facebook account information when you say goodbye. Here's everything you need to know about deleting Facebook, from the difference between deleting and deactivating, to what happens after you delete Facebook.
What happens when you delete Facebook
Many people avoid deleting Facebook, even if they worry about the platform's impact on personal well-being or society, simply because it is an important part of daily life. "Since I deleted Facebook, my life has become 10% more difficult because a lot of apps require Facebook login, especially dating apps," said Martina, who deleted hers immediately after the 2016 election. account, she previously told Bustle. She added that the lack of invitations to Facebook events has also taken a toll on her social calendar. "People have to reach out to me and invite me to parties, but a lot of people just don't want to do that."
Haley has gone through periods of deactivating and reactivating Facebook, deleting the app from her phone for self-care reasons. "I have more control over how I spend my time — especially at night," she previously told Bustle. “I rarely spend the last hour or so of the day scrolling through social media before I feel tired and fall asleep – my nightly routine feels more laid-back now.”
Once you delete Facebook, you can say goodbye to those notifications that keep popping up—both good and bad—bye-bye. But what happens to your data? The Facebook Help Center says, "Copies of certain materials (for example: log records) may remain in our database but are not associated with personal identifiers." If this sounds good to you, you might be wondering how long it takes to delete Facebook . The deletion process itself may only take a few minutes, but according to the Facebook Help Center, it may take up to 90 days for the site to completely wipe your data stored in its backup system.
How to deactivate your Facebook account
As you might have guessed, deactivation is a less permanent measure that opens the door slightly if you decide to miss out on ole FB. According to Facebook's Help Center, "You can temporarily deactivate your account and choose to return when you want to." Facebook hides your profile, but all of your information remains on their servers in case you want to re- Activate your profile.
So, what happens when you deactivate your Facebook account? According to the Help Center, your profile will not be visible, but your friends may still see your name pop up when browsing their shared posts. If you run the page, it will also be deactivated, but administrators may still be able to see your posts and comments in the group. Messages you send to friends may still be accessible, and you will be able to chat with them using Messenger. (You must deactivate or delete Messenger separately.) To reactivate your account, you simply log back into Facebook, or use your credentials to log in to an app that uses Facebook (such as a dating app).
To deactivate your Facebook account, go to Settings & Privacy and then Settings. Click "Your Facebook Information" on the left. From there, you'll click Deactivate & Remove, Deactivate, and follow the prompts to continue.
How to delete your Facebook account
Because deactivating Facebook will technically still keep your account open, it's not a great solution if you want to stop using the platform due to data and privacy concerns. As long as you keep a Facebook account, the tech giant has your information, including basic account details, details and photos of you shared by other users, networks and connections, payment information, device information and information from third-party partners In accordance with Facebook's data policy, advertisers.
Deleting your Facebook profile is easy. Take the same steps as deactivating your account, but click "Delete" instead of "Deactivate." The page will prompt you to download information, which you may want to do if you want to keep track of everything you upload to Facebook (such as photos). According to Facebook's Help Center, it may take several days to put these files together. You'll be notified when the files are available for download, so you'll have to postpone account deletion until everything is ready.
Regardless of whether you wait to download your account information, once you click "Delete Account" you have 30 days to change your mind. During that month, your account will appear to be deactivated rather than deleted. To cancel account deletion, you simply need to log back into Facebook, just like reactivating your account. However, once the 30 days have passed, your account will be inaccessible, but Facebook's Help Center notes that it can take up to 90 days to completely delete your account.
Even if your account is deleted, traces of your old Facebook life will remain due to your interactions with other Facebook members. According to the Help Center, some types of user information (such as your Messenger records) are not actually tied to your account, and friends with whom you have previously exchanged messages may still be able to reference your old conversations, despite the fact that you actually no longer exists in the Facebook world.
