How Can I Delete My Facebook Account

How Can I Delete My Facebook Account

Deleting a Facebook account is easier to say than to do.

If you haven’t been following the news for a while, you must know that Facebook has
been making headlines recently, was under scrutiny for a data breach in September
2018. Trading off privacy for convenience at this level isn't a good idea. With massive
breaches like these being reported each month, one must evaluate their social media
activity, especially on Facebook.

This article discusses many different ideas behind why and how to delete a
Facebook account. Let us dive deeper into the ‘Why’ of deleting a Facebook account.

Reason #1: Facebook Shares Your Data With Third-Party Applications,
Online, And Offline

The sharing of user data with third-party applications is a common
revenue-generating source of Facebook.

The company claims that they treat user data sensibly and with utmost security.
Still, Mr. Zuckerberg's social media platform does not say anything about how
third-party applications use the information provided to them by Facebook.

Reason #2: Privacy Is A Myth On Facebook

Facebook proclaims its dedication to protecting user information. However, the
company does not clearly explain the underlying workings of targeted
advertisements a user receives. There are also after-effects of using Facebook,
and related ads pop up on sites like eBay, for example.
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Reason #3: Ambiguous And Extended Terms of Service

There is a never-ending list of complicated terms and vaguely linked logic in
Facebook's terms of service. Facebook's terms of service work in the interest of their
corporate goals, and not the user’s privacy. It can be written off because Facebook is a
company, after all.

But, the dark side of their corporate policies and transactions within the company
came into the limelight when Facebook came under scrutiny in 2018 for influencing
electoral proceedings in India.

A neutral company, as Facebook presents itself to be, cannot be allowed to do this. It
monetizes user data without their explicit consent for corporate interests.
By deactivating your account, Facebook states that they remove most of your data
from their platform. However, there is no absolute certainty that all personal data is
deleted.

Reason #4: Fake Sense of Satisfaction

Usage of Facebook provides a false sense of satisfaction to its users and is similar to
online gaming. Its users tend to get lost in the digital world, forgetting the impact
they could have in the real world. Fake-activism is prevalent among Facebook users.
Because of this, some federal authorities across the globe have banned these media
platforms. This prevents the spread of rumors and hate messages.

Reason #5: Choosing To Delete For Professional Reasons

Some companies regulate the online presence of their employees.
Such firms ask their employees not to use Facebook during selected hours. These
hours, usually, fall during the regular work timing. Companies limit their employees’
social media presence because it affects the productivity of their employees.
There are many security loopholes in Facebook’s platform. Hackers and scammers
leverage these loopholes for gaining unauthorized access to the employee data. For
example, in 2018, an act of espionage from a neighboring country included
contacting of an Indian Army personnel through Facebook.

How To Delete A Facebook Account?

This section details the systematic instructions on how to delete a Facebook
account. Facebook offers two ways for deleting your profile. Account deactivation
and permanent deletion of Facebook account are the two ways in which you can
delete a profile.

Step 1: Go to facebook.com
Step 2: Type in your email address and password. If you are a frequent user of
Facebook on your device, it remembers your profile. In this case, the user needs to
type in the password.
Step 3: Once you are on your Facebook home page, locate the drop-down notch on
the top right corner.
Step 4: You are on the settings page. On the left side, you can see a vertical list of
options. Select ‘Your Facebook Information’ from the list.
Step 5: Under this option, there is an option for ‘Deactivation and deletion.’ Select
‘view’ from besides this option.
Step 6: After you click ‘view,’ there are two options. One is ‘Deactivate Account.’
Then, there is a button to ‘Permanently delete the account.’
Step 7: At the bottom side, select ‘Continue to Account Deactivation.’ Re-verify
your details by typing your email address and password.
Step 8: On the next page, there are four options for the user. The user needs to
mention the reason for leaving. Here, the user selects from the eight options.
      ● This is temporary. I’ll be back.
      ● I have another Facebook account.
      ● I spend too much time using Facebook.
      ● I don’t feel safe on Facebook.
      ● I have a privacy concern.
      ● My account was hacked.
      ● I don’t find Facebook useful.
      ● Other reasons by the user.
Step 9: If the user selects the last option, he/she can write a few words in the
designated box.
Step 10: In the next option, the user needs to opt-out of receiving emails from
Facebook in the future.
Step 11: The final option is a reminder to the user that the deactivation of
Facebook does not delete the data stored on Facebook messenger.
Step 12: Finally, the user confirms to deactivate their Facebook account.
Step 13: By deactivating your account, Facebook disables your account. You can
still use messenger.

How To Delete A Facebook Account Permanently?

Facebook says that upon deleting a Facebook account, the user is not able to get back
their information on Facebook. It promises the permanent deletion of messenger
data with this option. The following steps follow a systematic approach in deleting
your Facebook account permanently.

Step 1: Type in facebook.com
Step 2: Provide your email address and password. In case you are a frequent user
of Facebook on your device, it remembers your profile. In this case, you need to type
in the password.
Step 3: Once you are on your Facebook home page, locate the drop-down notch on
the top right corner.
Step 4: You are on the settings page. On the left side, you can see a vertical list of
options. Select ‘Your Facebook Information’ from the list.
Step 5: Under this option, there is an option for ‘Deactivation and deletion.’ Select
‘view’ from besides this option.
Step 6: After you click ‘view,’ there are two options. One is ‘Deactivate Account.’
Then, there is a ‘Permanently delete the account.’
Step 7: Select 'Permanently delete the account.’ Then, select ‘Continue to account
deletion.’
Step 8: On the next page, Facebook gives the user the final lifeline. If one needs to
keep using the Facebook messenger for communications, they can deactivate the
Facebook account instead.
Step 9: In the final step, Facebook lets you download a snapshot of your profile,
which includes your photos, videos, and posts.
Step 10: After this, click on 'Continue.' You are out of Facebook, well, hopefully.

How To Delete A Facebook Business Page

The following steps discuss the systematic way to delete your Facebook business
page.
  1.  Log in to facebook.com
  2. On the top right corner, click on the drop-down notch. Select ‘Settings.’
  3. Among the vertical list of options on the next page, select the ‘General’ category.
  4. Select the ‘Remove page.’ The user selects the option to delete the page on the next page that follows.
  5. It takes 14 days to delete the Facebook business page.
Instead of deleting your Facebook business page, users choose to unpublish
the page. While doing so, the administrators can view the changes made to the
profile.

How To Delete A Facebook Account Without Password

Facebook does not let you delete your Facebook account without logging in to your
Facebook profile. In case one forgets their password, It provides multiple options to
recover the password.

Users can leverage their phone numbers, email addresses, and biometric data to
verify their identity. Then, they can recover the password.

As a safe practice, Facebook users write down login IDs, passwords, recovery email
IDs, linked contact numbers, security questions, and the answer provided. If you
forget your login credentials, you can refer to the written details for recovering your
Facebook account.

After this, the user can follow the steps above to either deactivate or delete the
Facebook account permanently.


Facebook takes roughly one month to delete your Facebook account
permanently. Most of your digital footprint created on Facebook is removed in this
time.
Some data remains in storage for up to 3 months. The things you post to other’s
profiles and groups are still available for its use after you delete your Facebook
account permanently.