Steps to Deactivate Facebook Account (2022)

Difference Between Deactivating and Deleting Facebook Account

Although most people use these terms interchangeably, there’s a significant difference between deactivating and deleting your Facebook account. While deactivating your Facebook account is a temporary measure, deleting your account is permanent and irreversible after 30 days.
Facebook pages linked to your account will also be deactivated when you deactivate your account. Similarly, Facebook will delete all linked pages when you delete your account. In a nutshell, if you are planning to take a temporary break from Facebook, you should deactivate your account. On the other hand, those looking to move away from Facebook for good should delete their accounts.

Deactivate Facebook Account on the Web

  1. Sign in to your Facebook account on the web, click on the down arrow at the top-right corner, and choose “Settings & privacy”.
  2. From the expanded Settings & privacy menu, click on “Settings” to access your Facebook settings.
  3. From the left sidebar, switch to “Your Facebook Information” and click on the “Deactivation and deletion” section.
  4. Now, choose “Deactivate account” and click on the blue “Continue to Account Deactivation“.
  5. Facebook will now urge you to enter your password for authentication. Enter your Facebook password and click on “Continue” to proceed further.
  6. You should now choose a reason for leaving Facebook. In what looks like a classic growth hack move, Facebook doesn’t let you disable automatic account reactivation when you choose “This is temporary. I’ll be back” as the reason for leaving on the web. Hence, we would recommend you pick one of the other options.
  7. Scroll down and choose if you would like to keep using Messenger and opt-out of Facebook emails. Keep the checkbox unchecked if you’re not interested and click on “Deactivate”.
  8. From the confirmation prompt that appears now, click “Deactivate Now” to temporarily deactivate your Facebook account.
  9. Facebook will now redirect you to the login screen and show you a prompt confirming that your account has been deactivated. You can sign in using your Facebook credentials to reactivate your account later.

Deactivate Facebook Account on Android

  1. Open the Facebook app and tap the hamburger menu at the top-right corner. Then, tap on “Settings & Privacy” and select “Settings”.
  2. Under Account settings, select “Personal and Account Information” and choose “Account Ownership and Control” to view settings related to your Facebook account.
  3. Now, tap on “Deactivation and deletion” and choose the “Deactivate account” toggle. Once you have done that, press “Continue to account deactivation”.
  4. You should now choose a reason to deactivate your Facebook account. Unlike Facebook on the web, you can choose to disable automatic reactivation when you use “This is temporary. I’ll be back” as the reason on Facebook’s mobile apps. Choose the reason and use the drop-down to select the automatic reactivation date.
  5. Set automatic reactivation to “Don’t reactivate automatically” and press “Continue”. This way, Facebook won’t automatically reactivate your account, and you can choose to come back whenever you’re ready.
  6. As a final step, choose if you would like to keep using Messenger and receiving notifications from Facebook. After that, tap “Deactivate my account,” and that’s it. You have successfully disabled your Facebook account.

Deactivate Facebook Account on iPhone

  1. Open the Facebook app on your iPhone and switch to the Menu tab from the bottom navigation bar. Now, press “Settings & Privacy” and choose “Settings”.
  2. Tap on “Personal and account information” under account settings and choose “Account ownership and control” from the next screen.
  3. Up next, press “Deactivation and deletion” and enable the “Deactivate account” toggle. After doing this, tap on “Continue to Account Deactivation”.
  4. Choose the reason to deactivate your Facebook account and tap “Continue”. Make sure to select the “Don’t reactivate automatically” option from the next screen to avoid automatic account reactivation.
  5. Press “Continue” and review if you would like to get notifications and keep using Messenger. Finally, press “Deactivate My Account” to disable your account on Facebook.
  6. As you can see in the image below, Facebook will now deactivate your account. You can choose to gain access to your account by logging in with your Facebook credentials.
    Q: Do you lose your friends when you deactivate Facebook? No, you won’t lose people in your friends list when you deactivate your Facebook account. You will still be mutually connected when you reactivate your account.
    Q: What does a deactivated Facebook account look like to friends? After deactivating your Facebook account, your account won’t appear to friends on their timeline or when they search for you. However, some details like your message history with old friends will still be visible in their chatbox.
    Q: How long can you deactivate a Facebook for? You can indefinitely deactivate your Facebook account. If you choose to delete your Facebook account instead, you can’t access the account after 30 days.

Deactivate to Take a Break from Facebook

So, those are the steps you need to follow to deactivate your Facebook account on the web, Android, and iOS. If you no longer wish to use Facebook, head to our linked article explaining how to delete your Facebook account and switch to one of the best Facebook alternatives. Meanwhile, we also have articles to teach you how to deactivate your Instagram account, delete your Instagram account, and delete your WhatsApp account in case you are planning to stop using all Meta-owned platforms.