Delete Facebook—How To Quickly Delete Your Account Now

Searches for how to delete Facebook and Instagram are skyrocketing after it emerged the social media site would no longer use fact checkers.

The move from third-party fact checkers to what Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg calls community notes — similar to the system used by Elon Musk’s X —will be the last straw for many users of Facebook, Instagram and Threads.

It comes as Facebook’s competitors such as BlueSky see an influx of users concerned about privacy after leaving Elon Musk’s X — which is itself facing increasing criticism.

If you are one of Facebook’s users who has decided to delete your account, how can it be done quickly, ensuring all your data is gone from Meta’s servers for good?

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How To Delete Your Facebook Account Quickly

If you’ve made the decision to delete Facebook, you probably want to get it over and done with quickly. Luckily, Facebook itself includes instructions on how to permanently delete your account.

However, Facebook’s guide is geared towards you deactivating it instead, which is fine if you want to try out not having the social network, but annoying if you’ve made up your mind.

If you have decided, you probably want to download your Facebook information — and the Meta-owned firm has actually published an easy guide on how to do this.

The quickest way of doing it is to click your profile picture in the top right of Facebook.

First, select Settings and Privacy > Settings.

The way looks will be different to some users. If Accounts Center is in the top left of your Settings menu, you can delete your account through there. If Accounts Center is in the bottom left of your Settings, you can delete your account there.

If you use Facebook to sign into any apps, you’ll need to change it, creating an email and secure password combination instead.

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If you change your mind, you can cancel, if you do so within 30 days. “After 30 days, your account and all of your information will be permanently deleted, and you won't be able to retrieve your information,” Facebook says.

It may take up to 90 days from the beginning of the process to delete all the things you've posted. While Facebook is deleting this information, it's not accessible to other users, the firm says.

What Happens When You Delete Your Facebook Account

Deleting your Facebook account is permanent and you won't be able to reactivate it.

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Another thing to note is that some information, such as messages you sent to friends, may still be visible to them after you've deleted your account. For example, copies of messages that you've sent are stored in your friends' inboxes, Meta says.

If you use your Facebook account to log in to Meta Quest, deleting your Facebook account will also delete your information — including your app purchases and achievements.

I asked Facebook owner Meta for additional comment and will update this story if the firm responds.

Should You Delete Facebook?

The decision to delete Facebook is not an easy one. Many people use it to keep in contact with friends and family.

Deactivating Facebook is one way to try and live without it for a while. If you’d prefer to limit but not delete Facebook — at the same time reducing the amount of data it collects — why not remove the app from your phone and use it on a browser instead?

Just make sure you do the same for Instagram and Threads if you use them, as these apps are also owned by Meta and the new rules still apply.