How to deactivate your Facebook account instead of deleting it.
The desire to take a break from social networks is understandable. Left unchecked, social media use can turn into seemingly endless sucks of time. It can harm your productivity, mental health, or cause other problems. One of the steps that many people decide to take in situations like this is to delete social media accounts.
However, deleting an account might seem like a daunting undertaking. On many sites like Facebook, you can deactivate your account instead of permanently deleting it. This means that you can still return to it, and your account data will remain intact as you left it.
What’s the Difference Between Deactivating and Deleting?
For other people viewing your Facebook account, there isn’t much of a difference between deleting it or deactivating it. Your account will not be visible to anyone who tries to see it, and no one will be able to send you friend requests. You also won’t show up in search results or in people’s friend lists.
The main difference is that you can still log into your deactivated account and access it at any time. As soon as you log into a deactivated account, it will become active again. It will work the same as if you left your Facebook account. Any data that you had in your account will also not be deleted when you deactivate it. This means messages or images that you had in your account.
When you delete your Facebook account, you will no longer be able to access it once it disappears. Facebook pauses deleting an account for a few days after being requested, so if you sign in about a day or so after you requested deleting it, you should be able to get it back. But after that he will disappear forever.
This is why deactivating your account may be the best option if your account has a lot of content and data that you want to keep. It’s also better if you plan on returning to the site eventually. You should also remember that no matter if you delete or deactivate your Facebook account, you can always use Facebook Messenger and all your messages will remain intact.
How to Deactivate a Facebook Account
If you’ve decided it’s best to deactivate your Facebook rather than delete it, here’s how to do it.
- From the home page, click the Account button in the upper right corner and select Settings & Privacy> Preferences.
- In the left sidebar, select your Facebook details.
- Next to the Deactivate / Remove field, select View.
- On the next page, select the Deactivate Account checkbox. Then click “Continue to Deactivate Account”.
- Now enter your password to access the account deactivation page.
- On this page you can choose your reason for leaving or explain more in the text box provided. You can also see which groups you are an administrator over which you may lose control after your account is deactivated for 20 days. You can also opt out of receiving emails from Facebook. When you’re done with these settings, click the Deactivate button at the bottom of the page.
- A pop-up window will appear asking if you are sure you want to deactivate. Select Deactivate now to complete the deactivation of your account.
For each option that you can choose as the reason for deactivation, Facebook will provide you with some resources related to your problem that you can use instead of completely deactivating. However, you can still close them to proceed with deactivation.
If you choose This is temporary. I’ll be back. as a reason to leave, you can set a time to automatically reactivate your account, up to a week in the future. If you choose this option, you will need to set a time for reactivation.
Optionally, you can now log into your deactivated account when you want to return to it.
What Happens After Deactivation?
Your account will no longer be visible to other users, including posts, photos, or your information. If you were the admin of a Facebook group, you will no longer be administering it 20 days after deactivation.
You will also not be able to use this Facebook account to access other accounts that you have connected to Facebook without reactivating by logging in again. If you sign in to other services using Facebook, you can change your login information or create new accounts so that they are not associated with Facebook.
You can always use Facebook Messenger and keep messaging with your friends. Deactivating or deleting your Facebook account does not affect your Messenger account.
There is no limit on how long you can disable your account. You can always enter it again if you want. Facebook downloads and stores all data in your deactivated account so that it will be there when you return.
To reactivate your Facebook account, please log into the site using the same information as for the deactivated account. Then you will be returned to your account as if you never left.
Should You Deactivate or Delete Your Facebook Account?
There are good reasons for both deactivating and deleting a Facebook account. If you’re not sure if you want to go back or not, deactivation is the best way out. As mentioned earlier, if you delete your account, you will have a few days to sign in again if you wish. But complete deletion is permanent.
On Facebook, you can upload your data if you want to delete your account but don’t want it to disappear. You can also always download your photos. But after you delete your account, you cannot get it back and you have to create a completely new account if you want to be on Facebook again.
Thus, deactivation is much better if you only want to leave the site temporarily and make sure that your data is still available to you.
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How to deactivate your Facebook account instead of deleting it
How to deactivate your Facebook account instead of deleting it