With over 2 billion monthly active users, Facebook is one of the most popular social media platforms worldwide. Many users have had their Facebook accounts for years and accumulated a lot of friends, photos, posts, and other data. However, some users may eventually want to delete their Facebook account and start fresh with a new profile. Here are some key things to know about deleting your Facebook account and starting a new one.
Why Would You Want to Delete Your Facebook Account?
There are a few common reasons why someone may want to delete their existing Facebook account:
- You want a fresh start on social media
- Your current profile has outdated information you don’t want available anymore
- You have privacy concerns with your current account
- You want to remove tags and photos related to a past relationship
- You have multiple accounts and want to consolidate down to one
- You don’t have time for Facebook anymore and want to deactivate
Whatever the reason, deleting your Facebook account can give you a clean slate if you ever decide to return to the platform with a new profile.
How to Permanently Delete Your Facebook Account
If you are sure you want to delete your Facebook account, here are the steps to do so:
- Go to the Facebook Settings page and click “Your Facebook Information” in the left sidebar
- Click on “Deactivation and Deletion”
- Choose “Permanently Delete Account” and click “Continue to Account Deletion”
- Enter your password and click “Continue”
- Click “Delete Account”
Once you go through this process, your account should be scheduled for deletion. It can take up to 90 days for Facebook to fully delete all of your data from their systems. During this time your profile and information will not be accessible to anyone.
Important Things to Know Before Deleting Your Account
Before taking the permanent step of deleting your Facebook account, keep these key points in mind:
- You will lose access to everything stored on your account – photos, posts, messages, etc. Back up anything you may want to keep.
- People will no longer be able to search for you or view your profile on Facebook.
- Some sites and apps you’ve logged into using Facebook may no longer work.
- Facebook may retain some data for legal reasons even after account deletion.
- If you only want a break from Facebook, deactivating is different than deleting.
Overall, account deletion is permanent so be sure you are ready to let go of your profile and all its data.
How Long Does It Take Facebook to Delete an Account?
After you request account deletion, Facebook begins the data deletion process:
- Immediately – Your profile is made inaccessible to other users
- 1-3 days – Account scheduled for deletion queue
- 1-90 days – Account waiting in deletion queue before complete removal
- After 90 days – All account data should be permanently deleted
So the deletion process can take up to 90 days total. Even though your account is invisible on Facebook immediately, some data may still exist on backups or archives during the waiting period before final deletion.
Can You Reactivate a Deleted Facebook Account?
If you regret deleting your Facebook account, there is a limited window where you may be able to recover it.
Facebook allows you to reverse account deletion within 14-30 days in most cases. To do so:
- Log into Facebook with the same email/password as your deleted account
- Follow the on-screen prompts to reactivate your profile
After the 14-30 day grace period, Facebook typically does not allow reversing a deletion. Some users report success contacting Facebook support to recover an account, but there are no guarantees.
The recovery timeframe depends on where you are in the deletion queue:
- 1-14 days – Reversible without contacting Facebook support
- 14-30 days – Reversible by contacting Facebook support
- Over 30 days – Almost impossible to recover account
So act fast if you immediately regret deleting your Facebook account.
Can You Start a New Facebook Account After Deleting the Old One?
Yes, you can create a brand new Facebook account even if you had an old one deleted. There is no Facebook policy that prohibits making a new account after deleting a previous one.
However, keep in mind that Facebook may restrict your ability to create new accounts if you have a history of violating their terms of service. Some tips when starting fresh:
- Use a different email and phone number than your old account
- Make your new profile distinct with different info/photo
- Be very careful not to violate any Facebook policies with your new account
As long as you created your new profile in good faith, there should be no issues having multiple accounts over time after deleting old ones.
Just don’t try to create a new account immediately after deleting your old one to temporarily hide your profile. Facebook may flag this as deceptive.
Should You Delete or Deactivate Your Facebook Account?
If you need an extended break from Facebook, deactivating your account is an alternative to permanent deletion:
| Deactivation | Deletion |
|---|---|
| Reversible any time | Permanent – very difficult to undo |
| Maintains all profile data | Erases all profile data after 90 days |
| Hides profile from other users | Hides profile immediately and deletes it |
| Can be reactivated with password | Requires going through account recovery process |
In most cases, deactivating is preferable if you think you may eventually want to use Facebook again. But deletion gives you the most permanent clean break if you are done with Facebook for good.
What Happens When You Delete Facebook?
Here’s a quick summary of key things that happen when you delete your Facebook account:
- Your profile, photos, posts, videos, and all other data gets scheduled for permanent deletion
- You immediately lose access to everything on your Facebook account
- No one can search for you or view your profile on Facebook
- Facebook starts a 90 day countdown before erasing your info from their systems
- You have a short 14-30 day window to reverse the account deletion
- After 30 days, it is very difficult to recover a deleted Facebook account
So in essence, deleting Facebook cuts ties with your account and everything on it. Be absolutely certain before you make the choice to delete!
Conclusion
While deleting your Facebook account is permanent, you can create a new profile afterwards if you choose. Be thoughtful before deleting your account, back up anything you want to keep, and act fast if you change your mind to increase chances of recovering your account. In most cases, deactivating the account is best if you think you may return to Facebook again in the future.