CNBC recently explained how to download everything Facebook knows about you. But what if you want to delete everything it knows about you?
If you follow these steps you will no longer have a Facebook account. Conversely, you can also "deactivate" your account if you want to step away for a temporary amount of time and still have access to all of your history when you come back.
If you've been worried about some of the deep knowledge Facebook has on you, however, then this is the best way to get everything removed, save for log records that Facebook says will stick around in its databases "but are disassociated from personal identifiers."
Ready to delete Facebook? Here's how:
- Log in to Facebook
- Navigate to https://www.facebook.com/help/delete_account
- Confirm that you want to delete your account.
Here's what Facebook says happens when you delete your account:
When you delete your account, people won't be able to see it on Facebook. It may take up to 90 days from the beginning of the deletion process to delete all of the things you've posted, like your photos, status updates or other data stored in backup systems. While we are deleting this information, it is inaccessible to other people using Facebook.
Some of the things you do on Facebook aren't stored in your account. For example, a friend may still have messages from you even after you delete your account. That information remains after you delete your account.
Facebook also says that you have a couple of delays to change your mind after placing a deletion request. You can cancel it by logging back in during that time, but your data is gone once the window closes.
Remember: After you do this you won't be able to see anything that you've ever posted to Facebook, and you won't be able to reactivate your account. If you want to temporarily suspend your account temporarily, follow our guide on how to deactivate Facebook.