How to Delete Your Facebook Account

Facebook permanently deletes your account 30 days after you submit the request. Logging in during that window cancels the deletion.

What Facebook keeps after deletion

  • Messages you sent to friends (stored in their inboxes)
  • Log data, retained for legal/security purposes
  • Backups for up to 90 days after deletion completes

Steps to delete your Facebook account

  1. Download your data first. Settings → Your Facebook information → Download your information. Pick the date range and format.
  2. Open the deletion page. Go to Settings → Accounts Center → Personal details → Account ownership and control → Deactivation or deletion.
  3. Choose Delete account. Select 'Delete account', enter your password, and confirm.
  4. Do not log in for 30 days. Any login (including via a third-party app that uses Facebook) cancels the deletion.

Gotchas to watch for

  • Apps you logged into 'with Facebook' will break — switch them to email login first.
  • Pages where you are the only admin are also deleted.

What deleting your Facebook account doesn't fix

Closing the account stops the flow of new data. It does not retrieve what has already left. Anything Facebook shared with advertising or analytics partners before you deleted stays with those partners, and anything that reached a data broker stays in the broker's database.

That is why people who delete a dozen accounts still find their home address on people-search sites afterwards. Those sites did not get your address from Facebook — they compiled it from public records, marketing lists and each other. Account deletion and broker removal are separate jobs, and doing one does not do the other.

Both are free to do yourself. The opt-out guides on this site cover 45+ brokers step by step, and the deletion steps above cost nothing but time.

Frequently asked questions

How long does it take to delete a Facebook account?

5 min + 30-day wait. Difficulty: medium. The full step-by-step process is on this page, and the official deletion page is at https://www.facebook.com/help/delete_account.

What data does Facebook keep after you delete your account?

Deletion is rarely total. Facebook retains: Messages you sent to friends (stored in their inboxes); Log data, retained for legal/security purposes; Backups for up to 90 days after deletion completes. That is normal across the industry — most retention is for legal, security or fraud-prevention reasons — but it is worth knowing that "delete" does not mean every trace is gone.

Can you recover a deleted Facebook account?

Assume not. Some services offer a grace period before deletion finalises, and where Facebook does, it is noted in the steps above. Once that window closes the account is gone. Download your data before you start — every major service offers an export, and it takes minutes.

Is deleting my Facebook account enough to protect my privacy?

No, and this is the part most guides skip. Deleting the account stops Facebook from collecting more, but it does not claw back what was already shared with advertisers, analytics partners or data brokers. If your name, address and phone are published on people-search sites, that stays true after the account is gone — those listings have to be removed separately, which you can do yourself for free.

Rather not do this manually?

Every opt-out on this site is free to do yourself. The catch is that brokers re-list you within months, so it is a recurring job rather than a one-off. These services handle the repetition for you:

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