Breaking away from Facebook, Instagram, Messenger and WhatsApp can be difficult.
Closing a social media account you’ve had for years is never easy. For many of us, our accounts are filled with years of photos, memorabilia, and memories that aren’t easy to part with, even if we’re ready to kick the daily swiping habit. It is also not so easy to completely delete an account for Facebook, Instagram and other Meta services.
Even if all the services are run by the same company, there is no centralized way to delete all accounts associated with meta. The good news is that deleting these accounts is in many cases easier than in the past, even if it sometimes involves a few extra steps.
Read on to learn exactly how to delete your Facebook, Instagram, Messenger, WhatsApp, and Oculus accounts.
Download your data first
Whatever your reasons for wanting to leave your accounts behind, it’s worth taking the time to download all your data before deleting them forever. Uploading your data will ensure that you have a record of previous posts, messages, photos and other activities.
These data archives look a little different for each service, but they generally include your past posts, a record of the account you follow, your messages, and even some of your previous activity on the service. Some, like Facebook, will even record what the site’s advertisers know about you.
In other words: it’s a lot of information. And it might not seem like much to keep, but if you’ve used an account for years, it’s a good way to keep a record of past photos, videos, and other posts. You should be prepared to retrieve some information that you don’t want to remember, such as conversations with ex-partners or photos from college.
On Facebook, you can access your archive: Settings and privacy -> Settings -> Your data. Facebook -> upload data -> upload survey.
On Instagram, it’s More -> Settings -> Privacy & security -> Download data -> Download request.
In WhatsApp it is Settings ->gt; Account -> Request account information.
Downloads on Messenger must be initiated through the mobile app. On both Android and iOS, go to Account Settings (located under the “conversations” tab) -> Your data. Facebook -> Download data. You will then be able to specify several aspects of the data, such as media quality, data format, and the data range you want the download to cover.
For Oculus and Meta Quest users, you can use the “data download” tool here.
Once you’ve hidden your data archives, you’ll be ready to destroy your accounts forever. Although, like data downloads, the process can take up to a few days to complete.
How to delete facebook
A word of warning before you delete Facebook for good: destroying your account will also destroy any third-party accounts you use Facebook to log in to. In some cases, you can restore them through the program’s support channels, but this is not possible. guarantee. Follow the steps here to check which apps and websites use Facebook as a login.
Also, if your Oculus account is linked to your Facebook identity, then deleting Facebook will permanently delete your Oculus account, including your previous purchases. Note that Meta now allows VR users to create a separate “Meta account” that is not based on Facebook.
Once you’re sure you’re ready to delete, you can find this option under Settings & Privacy -> Settings -> Your Data. Facebook -> Deactivate and remove -> Delete account -> Continue to delete account -> Delete account.
However, even after you hit the final “delete” button, Facebook notes that it takes about 30 days for your data to be completely deleted. This also means that you can cancel your request if you change your mind within 30 days. According to the company, it can take up to 90 days to complete the removal process, although your profile and other information will not be visible to others on Facebook during this time.
How to delete Instagram
For Instagram, you need to go to the “Delete Account” page, which you can find here. From there, you’ll need to select a reason from the drop-down menu and enter your password.
As with Facebook, Instagram notes that it can take “up to 90 days from the start of the removal process to remove anything you post,” though posts won’t be visible to others on the platform during that time.
How to delete Facebook Messenger
If you delete a Facebook account, your Messenger account will also be deleted permanently, so if you’ve already deleted your Facebook presence, you don’t need to go through any additional steps. But it’s also important to note that simply disabling Facebook won’t affect your ability to use Messenger or other users’ ability to find you on the app.
However, if you use Messenger without a linked Facebook account, you can delete your account through the app. On both iOS and Android: Account settings -> Delete account and data and enter your password.
How to delete WhatsApp
WhatsApp accounts can be deleted directly from the app via Settings -> Account -> Delete My Account. After that, the program will prompt you to enter your phone number. As with Facebook and Instagram, the company says the full removal process can take up to 90 days.
How to delete an Oculus or Meta account
As mentioned above, if you used Facebook to sign in to your Oculus account, you’ll deal with this by deleting Facebook. However, if your Oculus login details have been allocated, you must log into your account on the Oculus website from a browser, then go to My Profile -> Privacy Center -> Delete Oculus Account.
Note that this process will only work until January 1, 2023, when Meta will force all Oculus accounts to migrate to the new Meta accounts mentioned above. For these new Meta accounts, you can delete your presence by visiting auth.meta.com/settings, selecting “Delete Account,” re-entering your password, and selecting “Delete Data.”
Again, note that this will prevent you from using the VR headset and will erase any previous purchases you made.