Deactivate or delete: what's the actual difference?
Deactivating is a pause, not an exit. Your profile, timeline, photos, and posts stop being visible to other people, but Meta keeps everything stored, and some things (like messages you've sent) may still be visible to the people you sent them to. Logging back in with your usual email or phone number and password immediately reactivates the account exactly as it was.
Permanently deleting is meant to be final. Meta's Help Center describes it as removing your account and the information associated with it, including your posts, photos and videos, after a waiting period has passed. Once that period is over, Meta states you cannot retrieve the account, so this is the option to use only if you're genuinely finished with the account, not the one to use for a short break.
How do I start the deletion process?
- Open Settings & Privacy, then Settings.
- Go to Your Facebook Information.
- Select Deactivation or Deletion.
- Choose Permanently Delete Account (rather than Deactivate).
- Click Continue to Account Deletion, then confirm with your password when prompted.
Before confirming, Facebook typically offers to let you download a copy of your information first. Take that option if you want to keep photos, posts, or contact details, since none of it is retrievable once deletion is complete.
How long is the grace period, and can I cancel it?
Meta's Help Center on permanently deleting a Facebook profile states that after you request deletion, you have 30 days to change your mind. If you log back into the account with your normal credentials at any point in that window, Facebook prompts you to Cancel Deletion, which stops the process and restores the account. After the 30-day window closes, Meta states the account and its information are permanently deleted and cannot be recovered.
Meta also notes that full removal of everything you've posted can take up to 90 days from when deletion begins, and that copies of some information may persist longer in backup systems used for disaster or data-loss recovery, or where retention is required for legal, safety, or terms-of-service reasons. In practice: the 30 days is your last real chance to undo it, and the extra time after that is Meta finishing the technical removal, not a second recovery window.
What happens to Messenger and Instagram if they're linked?
This depends on how your accounts are actually connected, which varies by user. Messenger has historically been built on top of a Facebook login for many accounts, so permanently deleting Facebook can take Messenger access down with it if you never set Messenger up as a standalone account with its own separate login. Meta has also introduced options letting some users keep a standalone Messenger account independent of Facebook — check inside Messenger's own account settings for an option to keep or separate the accounts before you delete Facebook, since that choice is easier to make ahead of time than to fix afterward.
Instagram is a separate account by default unless you've specifically linked login or merged it through Meta's Accounts Center. Deleting your Facebook account does not automatically delete a separate Instagram account, but any cross-posting between them, shared ad accounts, or Accounts Center-level linking will stop functioning. If you also want Instagram gone, that requires its own separate deletion request inside Instagram.
People also ask
Should I deactivate first before deciding to delete?
It's a reasonable way to test the decision, since deactivating is fully reversible and costs you nothing — you can reactivate any time by logging back in. If after some time away you still want the account gone for good, go back into Settings and choose the permanent deletion path instead.
Can someone else find my old posts after I delete my account?
No, not once deletion is complete. Content you posted stops being visible to others as soon as deletion begins, well before the 30-day window closes, though Meta notes it can take up to 90 days to remove everything from its systems entirely.
Do I lose access to apps or websites I logged into with Facebook?
Yes, generally. Any third-party app or website where you signed in "with Facebook" relies on that Facebook account existing. Once it's permanently deleted, that login method stops working, and you may need to use a password reset or alternate sign-in method on those services if you kept a separate account with them.