Want to delete Facebook? Here's a step-by-step guide for you
Facebook's recent security lapse (affecting at least 50 million users) has sent the users of the social network in a state of panic. It came as the second privacy-related fiasco in less than six months and left millions of people questioning the service, thinking about deleting it for good. If you also have something similar in mind, here's our step-by-step guide to delete Facebook.
The first step: Download data
Before moving ahead with the plan to delete Facebook, download all the data related to your activity on the platform. By data, we mean everything ranging from photos and status updates to messages, friends, videos, and comments. This way, your memories will stay even after your account is gone. To download, navigate to 'Your Facebook Information' in Settings and go on 'Download your information' option.
Disconnect all third-party apps from Facebook
Next, you'll have to disconnect third-party apps linked with your Facebook account. Many services use Facebook as a quick login option and disconnecting them would leave you with the option of signing up via email. However, disconnecting Facebook might reset your data in some third-party apps/services. To disconnect apps, go to 'Apps and websites' option in Settings and select the apps to remove.
Deleting Facebook, permanently
After downloading Facebook information, you can delete your Facebook account, permanently. For this, navigate again to 'Your Facebook Information' option in Settings and click on 'Delete your account and information' - the last option. Doing this will take you to the deletion page, where Facebook will provide a 'Delete account' button. Clicking it and reconfirming that action with password will remove your account permanently.
What happens after deletion?
After deleting the account, Facebook gives a 30-days grace period. During this time, you can cancel the deletion request and come back on Facebook. However, if this period is over, Facebook will delete all your information from its servers in the next 60 days. As this happens, no other user will be able to see your posts, but the messages you've sent will remain visible.
