Before Deleting Your Facebook Account, You Must Take These 6 Steps

I'm Gen Z, and it's no secret we prefer TikTok and Instagram over Facebook. With more and more of my friends and family leaving Facebook, I've decided it’s time to do the same. Before I take the plunge, here are six things I’m taking care of, and I’d suggest you do the same.

1 Try Deactivating First

Before you make the decision to delete your Facebook account for good, consider whether a temporary break might work for you instead. If you think that might be the case, deactivating your Facebook account temporarily is a great option.

This would allow you to step back from Facebook without losing your memories or your friends and followers. This way, you can experience what it's like to be away from the app, and decide if you truly want to commit to leaving for good.

If you choose to keep your Facebook account after deactivating, you can return without the hassle of setting up everything from scratch. However, if you delete your account permanently, all your data will be lost. Essentially, your account will no longer exist, and if you later decide you want to keep Facebook, you'll have to start fresh.

You can deactivate your Facebook account by following the steps below:

1. Go to the Menu tab, tap the settings icon in the top-right corner, and then See more in Accounts Center.
2. Now, tap Personal details, and then Account ownership and control.
3. Tap Deactivation or deletion. If your Facebook and Instagram accounts are linked, you may be prompted to choose which account to deactivate. Simply select your Facebook account.
4. Select Deactivate account and tap Continue.
5. Follow the on-screen instructions, such as entering your password.

You'll still be able to use Messenger to stay in touch with friends and family after deactivating your account. However, any Pages you control will be deactivated until you reactivate your Facebook account. If you permanently delete your account, both your Messenger and any Pages you manage will also be deleted.

2 Back Up Content You'd Like to Keep and Important Conversations

I post a lot on social media and have used my Facebook account to preserve my memories. If you’re anything like me and have hundreds of posts, make sure to take the time to save the pictures and videos you hold dear.

You can save images you've posted on Facebook to your camera roll by heading to the profile tab and tapping your name at the top to open your account. Tap Photos, open an image, and then tap the three horizontal dots in the top-right corner of the screen. Simply select Save photo.

To save a video, go to your Facebook profile and tap Videos instead. Open the video you’d like to save, tap the three horizontal dots, and select Download reel from the menu.

However, if you'd like to save more than individual images and videos, I recommend downloading your entire Facebook history. This will give you a comprehensive file including your posts, messages, saved items and collections, stories, comments and reactions, and more.

You can download your information from Facebook by heading to the Menu tab and tapping the security icon. Then, tap See more in Accounts Center > Your information and permissions > Download your information. Finally, tap Download or transfer information, select your Facebook account (if your Instagram is linked), and follow the on-screen instructions.

3 Notify Friends and Groups

My Facebook friends list is filled with extended family, teachers who've taught me over the years, and friends I've made along the way. While those I’m connected with on other social media platforms can still keep in touch, I think it’s important not to leave anyone wondering where I’ve disappeared to.

That’s why it’s a good idea to let your Facebook friends and any groups you regularly engage with know you’re stepping away, ensuring they know where to reach you. Instead of the hassle of texting each friend individually and risking leaving someone out, one of the simplest ways to do this is by posting a Facebook status or a story so everyone on your friend list is aware of your decision.

4 Review Linked Apps and Services and Unlink Them

Linking my Facebook account with third-party apps like Spotify or games to log in with just a tap and bypassing the whole account creation process is a feature I've relied on a lot over the years. Facebook states that you'll no longer be able to use Facebook Login for these accounts and may need to contact the respective app and websites to recover these accounts.

So unlinking these accounts before you bid farewell to Facebook is a smart move. You can do so by going to the profile tab and tapping the settings icon in the top-right corner. Then, scroll down until you see Apps and websites under Your activity.

Enter your Facebook account credentials, and you'll be able to see all the apps and websites linked to your Facebook account. You should go to these sites and apps and see if you can use an alternative login method that preserves your account data.

If you want to unlink an app on Facebook, simply tap the app you'd like to unlink, hit Remove, and then tap Remove again.

5 Note Important Birthdays

While I'm not particularly proud to admit it, one of the primary reasons why I decided against deleting my Facebook account for so long is because I have the worst memory and tend to forget birthdays. It's one thing to miss the birthday of a distant acquaintance, but when it's someone I care about, I feel guilty for days. Facebook's birthday reminders have frankly been my saving grace.

So, when I decided I'd be deleting my Facebook account, I decided to note down important birthdays I wanted to keep track of. There are plenty of apps that can help you remember birthdays. However, since I rely on Google Calendar for my day-to-day scheduling, I added all the key birthdays to my calendar and set them as yearly recurring events, so I'll get a notification every year.

Thankfully, you don’t need to dig through each friend's profile to find their birthday. Just head to the Home tab, tap the Search icon at the top right, and type “Birthdays”. Select the first option that appears, and you’ll see a full list of your friends’ birthdays.

Now, just jot them down in whatever app or system you prefer!

6 Remove Personal Information

Although deleting your Facebook account permanently should erase most of your personal information, wiping out your digital footprint is a step I’d recommend taking as a final farewell to Facebook. Before you delete your account entirely, make sure you take a moment to review your profile and remove any information that you wouldn’t want lingering around, like your contact details and email.

While Facebook has had its time, I'm noticing more and more people deleting their Facebook account, and I don't blame them. If you've decided to join them, I’d highly recommend following all the steps I’ve mentioned above to avoid any hiccups in the future.