Make sure you take the time to remove your data if you’ve made the decision to deactivate your Facebook account.
In 2025, a lot of people plan to review and modify their social media usage. And for a lot of those individuals, this entails completely abandoning some social media sites like Facebook. They’ve made the decision to cancel their account and leave, whether they’re upset about the fact-checking being removed from Meta platforms or concerned about Meta AI having access to their whole camera roll. It’s important to make sure you don’t lose your data, though, before you completely abandon your Facebook days.
Many users are curious about how to gather their data before canceling their account because they have years’ worth of images and a wealth of personal information. If that is you, continue reading to learn how to completely delete your Facebook account while preserving all of your data in the process.
The only way to properly untangle oneself from Facebook is to delete your account if you’re done with it. If you’re unsure, you may test life outside Facebook without worrying about being deleted by deactivating your account. It does take some time to download your data and deactivate your Facebook account, but we have all the information you need to know what to anticipate and how to preserve everything before doing so.
Locate and delete your third-party Facebook logins before deactivating your account.
You have been able to use your Facebook account to log in for years thanks to third-party applications like Door Dash and Spotify. This lets you connect in without having to remember another password, but you’ll need to change your login information if you choose to delete Facebook. This is because you won’t have a Facebook account to log in with if you first deactivate your account.
Fortunately, it’s easy to find out which of your websites and applications are connected to Facebook and unlink them before canceling your account.
You’ll need to change how you log in to other websites and applications when you unplug them from Facebook. To create new passkeys or passwords, go to those particular applications and websites. You may also use Google or another single-service sign-on method to log in.
What distinguishes deleting your Facebook account from deactivating it?
You have two main choices if you want to stop using Facebook. You have the option to deactivate or completely delete your account.
If you’re attempting to cut back on your Facebook usage or need a vacation from social media, deactivating your account can be helpful. On the other hand, you will no longer be active on the social networking platform if you completely delete your account.
A few things won’t change whether you delete or deactivate your account. Other users won’t be able to see your timeline, posts, images, or profile. You will not show up in the results if someone searches for your account.
Similarly, all of your uploaded photos—including those in which you were tagged—will vanish. You will also need to modify your login process for any third-party accounts, such as Spotify or Pinterest, before deactivating Facebook, unless you intend to retrieve them afterwards.
You may reactivate your account at any time; deactivating it does not erase your data. It is crucial to keep in mind that Facebook can continue monitoring your online activities even after you deactivate your account, particularly if you utilize third-party logins.
When you deactivate your account, you can access it again, but when the 30-day time is over, it is permanently deleted. Deactivation is the best course of action if you’re not ready to remove Facebook entirely. Although Facebook-related functions will be deactivated, you will still be able to send messages and use third-party logins after deactivating your account.
What are the consequences of deactivating your Facebook account?
Although you will no longer be visible on Facebook if you delete your account, everything you have ever done on the site remains intact. Facebook Messenger is likewise cut off when you delete Facebook, although your friends will still be able to see your messages.
All of the data on Meta Quest will be erased if you log in using your Facebook credentials. This covers both your accomplishments and the apps you have purchased. It also implies that all of your remaining store credits will be lost and that you won’t be able to return any applications via Meta Quest. Instagram and WhatsApp are examples of Meta platforms that will not be impacted by a Facebook deletion. You will have to remove such accounts on your own if you choose to stop using those platforms.
Next, download all of your Facebook personal information.
Many people have been using Facebook for years as a simple way to gather pictures or to remain in contact with friends and family. Here’s how to get any Facebook data you wish to save before deleting your account.
- Open Facebook and log in.
- Navigate to the Account Center under Settings & Privacy > Settings.
- Choose your details and permissions.
- Click “Download your information.”
- Choose to send or download the data.
- Choose which profiles you want to obtain information from.
- Click Next.
- Click Available information when prompted for the amount of information you want. Keep in mind that this covers everything except data logs, which are recordings of information that may be linked to you. Make sure Data Logs is chosen at the bottom of the screen after clicking Specific sorts of information if you want those.
- Choose “Download to device.”
- Click Date range in the Create files to download choices, then choose All time.
- Your data will be in an easily navigable format if you leave the format set to HTML.
- Change the Media Quality setting from Medium to High to save high-resolution copies of the images and videos you upload to Facebook.
- Lastly, choose “Create files.” After compiling all of your data, Facebook will notify you via email when it is prepared for download. This is not a procedure that happens instantly; it may take some time.
- Before deleting your account, make sure you have all the personal information you wish to save.
- Lastly, remove your Facebook profile.
- The last step is to deactivate your Facebook account after you’ve downloaded the information you don’t want to lose.
Before canceling your account, Facebook will provide you with a list of things to think about. It contains instructions on how to retrieve your data and a warning that if you are the only administrator of a Facebook page, it will be removed until you give another account administrator access.
Here’s how to permanently erase your Facebook account when you’re ready to go.
- Open Facebook and log in.
- Navigate to the Account Center under Settings & Privacy > Settings.
- Under Account Settings, choose Personal Details.
- Choose Account Control and Ownership. Choose Deactivation or Erasure.
- Select the profile or account that you wish to remove.
- After choosing “Delete account,” click “Continue.”
- To confirm, click Continue and then adhere to the directions.
What happens if you decide you don’t want to remove Facebook?
The decision to remove your Facebook profile is final, but it takes time. If you decide you wish to maintain your account, you have time to cancel the procedure because it takes 30 days for the system to finalize an account deletion. All you have to do is return it to your account before the 30-day period has passed.
Disclaimer:
This article is intended for informational and educational purposes only. The steps and recommendations provided are based on publicly available features and settings as of 2025. The content is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by Meta Platforms, Inc. (Facebook). Readers are advised to consult Facebook’s official Help Center or contact Meta support for the most current and personalized guidance. We do not collect or store any personal user data through this guide.