How to Permanently Delete a Facebook Account

 What to know: 

Open Settings > Your Facebook Information, Select View > Delete Account > Continue to Account Deletion next to Deactivation and Deletion.

After that, choose Delete Account (or opt to Deactivate Account or Download Info). Fill your password in, then confirm the deletion by clicking Continue.

If you change your mind, log back into Facebook within 30 days and confirm that you don’t want your account deleted.

In this post, we will show you how to permanently delete your Facebook account, as well as things to consider before

doing so. The instructions are for Facebook users who access via a web browser on a desktop computer.

How to Permanently Close Your Facebook Account

To put an end to your Facebook relationship, follow these steps:

1. Choose the downward arrow in the upper-right corner from the Facebook home screen.

2. Choose Settings & Privacy > Settings from the menu that appears. (Note: To find Settings, you will need

to first select Settings & Privacy.)

3. On the left navigation bar, select Your Facebook Information when the General Account Settings

screen appears.

4. Select View next to Deactivation and Deletion in the information that pops up.

5. Click Delete Account on the next tab, then press Continue to Account Deletion. (Note: This area was

previously labeled Permanently Delete Account, as seen in the image; the current wording is Delete Account.)

6. You can choose Deactivate Account or Download Infor from a new tab. Choose Download Info and

wait for the download to complete if you have not yet downloaded the personal information (pictures, chat histories,

messages, etc.) that you want to hold. Click Delete Account if you don’t want to keep your account.

 Warning: Before you delete your Facebook account, make sure you really want to. A deleted account

cannot be recovered after 30 days.

7. When prompted, fill your password in and then press Continue.

8. You’ll be asked to confirm that you want to delete the account once more. Select Delete Account.

9. Your account will be removed temporarily, and you will be taken back to the log-in screen.

What to Consider Before Deleting Facebook

Take some time to consider what you could sacrifice by deleting your Facebook account before you do so. Do you

have any photos that are only available on Facebook, for example? What about other accounts (such as Instagram or

Pinterest) that can be accessed using your Facebook log-in information? If you’re not sure how deeply Facebook is

ingrained in your digital life, it’s a good idea to deactivate it first to figure out which profiles and passwords you’ll

need to alter before completely abandoning the service.

If you’re certain you’re ready to delete your Facebook account, you can at the very least make a backup of the

information you’ve stored there. This could include everything from your photos to your chat histories and even your

contact lists. Once you’ve started the process, you’ll be able to choose which data you want to download.

If you change your mind about deleting your account during the 30-day deletion timeframe, you can return to

Facebook and confirm that you want to cancel the deletion. After that, the page will be restored. The account, as well

as all of the data in it, will be permanently deleted after 30 days.