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- Deactivating vs. Deleting
- Deactivating Your Account
- Deleting Your Account
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Deactivating Your Account
Deactivating Your Account
Let’s start, then, with the less-permanent approach of deactivating your Facebook account. It’s a surprisingly simple process, if you know where to click.
Here’s how to do it:
- Log into your Facebook account.
- Click the Account button at the top of the page and select Account Settings.
- On the Account Settings page, scroll to the Deactivate Account section and click the Deactivate link.
- Here’s where it gets tough. Facebook really, really doesn’t want to see you leave, so it tugs at your heartstrings by showing you pictures of some of your Facebook friends, with the messages “Bob will miss you,” “Dinah will miss you,” and so forth. Resist the urge to change your mind.
- Scroll to the Reason for Leaving section, and select just why it is you’re leaving. This is a requirement; you have to tell Facebook something here.
- If you don’t want to be hounded by Facebook to venture back into the fold, check the Opt Out of Receiving Future Emails from Facebook box.
- Click the Confirm button.
Figure 1 Deactivating your Facebook account – if you can resist the pleas to stay.
Facebook will now hide your account from other Facebook users. However, you retain the option of reactivating your account at any time – and Facebook still has all your personal information on file, for what it’s worth.