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If you ever wanted to delete your Facebook account, that’s totally fine. There are many other ways to attract new customers and stay connected with people anyway. 

MacPaw’s cybersecurity division Moonlock is here to help you get rid of Facebook safely, scrubbing your information entirely from Meta servers. Or, if you want to have a short trial run without Facebook, Moonlock will show you how to temporarily deactivate your account. 

Yes, you can be an independent worker without Facebook

Think about it: do you actually use Facebook? We are so accustomed to everybody having a Facebook account that we never even doubt its necessity. At the same time, reasons to get rid of Facebook are mounting: privacy concerns, intrusive ads, scams and clickbait, account hacks – you name it! 

If you use Facebook for lead generation or for groups with professional advice, consider this article a sign from above. How many clients did you really bring from Facebook? How much information from Facebook groups was actually applicable in your real life? Answers to these questions might help you understand if you absolutely need a Facebook presence in your marketing to-do list. 

Deactivate or delete: what’s the difference

When you know the difference between the two, it’s easier to make a decision. Here’s what you should know about the deactivation and deletion of your Facebook account.

Deactivation is reversible

Deactivating your Facebook account is more like hitting pause rather than saying goodbye for good. On the other hand, deleting your account is a permanent move—you only have a few days to change your mind and restore it. If you're unsure whether you’re ready to stop using Facebook, deactivating the account might be a safer bet.

Reactivating a deactivated account is super easy—just log back into Facebook as usual, or use your Facebook login on another app or website. 

Deleting your account scrubs your data off the web

If you’re looking for ways to decrease your digital footprint, deactivating your Facebook account won’t help. Meta keeps all the information on the servers in case you need to reactivate the account. 

When you delete your Facebook account, all your information is gone for good. That includes Meta Quest with achievements and app purchases. However, message history isn’t stored in your account, meaning your friends will still have access to the texts you sent them. And some data, like log records, will stay in Meta databases but disassociated from personal identifiers.

You can keep Messenger with a deactivated account

Yes, a deactivated Facebook account is no reason to delete Messenger from your phone. You can still connect with people there, even though your account is deactivated. All you need is to keep the checkbox “Opt out of receiving messages on Messenger” unchecked when you deactivate your Facebook.

Download valuable information before deleting the account

Facebook might be preserving a lot of memories, and it’s a good idea to have them copied to your device. Especially if you think there’s nothing really valuable there, we strongly recommend that you download a copy of your information from Facebook. It’s a good way to make sure no rare photo, giggle, or inside joke is forgotten before you delete your account.

Here’s how to download your Facebook data.

1. Find Accounts Center

Navigation around Facebook is a tough task, but we prepared step-by-step instructions for you. Facebook Accounts Center is where you have all kinds of account settings, including Facebook data download options.

For those who use a web browser, here’s how to find Facebook Accounts Center:

1. Go to facebook.com.
2. Click your profile picture in the top-right corner.
3. Go to “Settings & privacy”.
4. Click Settings.
5. Click the Accounts Center box in the sidebar on the left.

Here’s how to find it in a mobile app:

1. Open the Facebook app.
2. In the bottom-right corner, tap the Menu button.
3. Tap the profile drop-down arrow at the top.
4. Select “Go to Accounts Center”.

2. Look for “Download your information” in Account Center

Whether in a desktop browser or in-app on a phone, the next steps are the same:

1. Click on “Your information and permissions”.
2. Select “Download your information”.
3. Click on “Download or transfer information”.

3. Choose what to download

Facebook offers to download all your available information or specific types of it. 

If you choose to download available information, you’ll download all the information for your account and profile except for data, or activity, logs.

According to Meta, information about your activities on Facebook, like search history, apps you used Facebook to log in, things you viewed and clicked on, take too much time to prepare. That’s why they are not included in the first option of downloading all your available data, and you have to choose this information as a specific type for download.

Activity logs might not be of emotional or sentimental value, but at least you’d have a grasp of things that Meta knows about you.

4. Choose where to save your data

Once you've decided on the type of information for download, the next step is to choose where to store your data. You can either download it directly to your device or transfer it to another location like Google Drive or Dropbox.

How to deactivate your Facebook account

For those who decided to take a brief pause from Facebook, here’s a brief guide on how to do it safely on your phone and through a desktop browser.

Deactivating Facebook on your phone

1. Open the Facebook app and tap the Menu button in the bottom-right corner.
2. Tap the profile drop-down arrow at the top.
3. Select “Go to Accounts Center”.
4. Choose “Personal details”.
5. Select “Account ownership and control”.
6. Tap “Deactivation or deletion” > Deactivate.
7. Choose the account you wish to deactivate, then select Deactivate.
8. Enter your password to confirm, and click Continue to deactivate your Facebook account.

Deactivating Facebook on a desktop browser

1. Go to facebook.com and click your profile picture in the top-right corner.
2. Go to “Settings & privacy” > Settings.
3. Click on the Accounts Center box in the left sidebar.
4. Choose “Personal details” > “Account ownership and control”.
5. Click “Deactivation or deletion” and select Deactivate.
6. Choose the account you wish to deactivate, then select Deactivate.
7. Enter your password to confirm, and click Continue to deactivate your Facebook account.

How to delete your Facebook account

If you're ready to say goodbye to Facebook for good, remember that you’ve got a limited window to reverse your decision if you change your mind. Otherwise, you won’t be able to restore your information. Here's how to delete your Facebook account permanently.

Deleting your Facebook account on a phone

1. Open the Facebook app and tap the Menu button in the bottom-right corner.
2. Tap the profile drop-down arrow at the top.
3. Choose “Go to Accounts Center”.
4. Tap “Personal details” > “Account ownership and control”.
5. Choose “Deactivation or deletion” and tap Delete.
6. Choose the account you wish to delete, then select Delete.
7. Choose whether to first save your posts to an archive, download your information, or transfer a copy of your information to Google Drive or Dropbox before deleting your account.
8. Enter your password to confirm, and tap Continue to delete your Facebook account.

Deleting your Facebook account through a desktop browser

1. Go to facebook.com and click your profile picture in the top-right corner.
2. Go to “Settings & privacy” > Settings.
3. Click Accounts Center.
4. Click “Personal details” > “Account ownership and control”.
5. Click “Deactivation or deletion”, then select Delete.
6. Choose the account you wish to delete and click Delete.
7. Choose whether to save your posts to an archive, download your information, or transfer a copy of your information to Google Drive or Dropbox before deleting your account.
8. Enter your password to confirm, and click Continue to delete your Facebook account.

Hopefully, the steps above helped you understand how to delete or deactivate your Facebook account. Remember the differences between the two, and you will be able to prevent Meta from collecting further information about you, leaving no crumbs behind. Just ensure you’ve downloaded all the account and profile information you need before you do so. Don’t delete your account unless you’re sure you won’t want it back.