Quick Answer
No, deleting your Facebook account does not delete the messages you’ve sent to your friends. The messages will remain in your friend’s message inbox even after you delete your account. This is because each message thread is stored separately for each user.
Explanation
When you have a conversation with a friend on Facebook Messenger, a copy of the message thread is stored in both your inbox and your friend’s inbox. This allows each person to view the conversation from their account.
So if you decide to delete your Facebook account, it only deletes the copy of the messages that are stored in your inbox. The messages remain visible in your friend’s inbox, even after you are gone.
Facebook’s data policy states:
When you delete your account, we delete things you have posted, such as your photos and status updates, and you won’t be able to recover that information later. Information that others have shared about you isn’t part of your account and won’t be deleted. If you don’t want to delete your account but want to temporarily stop using the Products, you can deactivate your account instead.
So any messages you’ve sent to your friends on Facebook will remain visible to them. Your friend will still be able to see the full history of your conversations, your name, and your profile picture if you’ve deleted your account.
Why Messages Remain After Account Deletion
There are a couple reasons why Facebook retains messages after an account is deleted:
- Each user should have access to their full message history. Deleting one person’s account should not delete messages for other users.
- Facebook needs the data for analytics and advertising purposes.
- If messages were deleted, it could impact any future legal investigations.
Ultimately, the messages you send belong to both you and the recipient. So Facebook allows each party to retain access to the conversations.
Will My Name and Photo Disappear from My Friend’s Chat History?
No, your name and profile photo will remain visible in your friend’s message history after you delete your account.
Facebook states that information others have shared about you, such as messages sent to you, remain intact even when your account is gone.
So your messages will still appear with your name and photo in your friend’s inbox. Of course, they will no longer be able to visit your deleted profile or add new messages to the thread.
How to Delete Conversations from a Friend’s Facebook Inbox
Since Facebook retains message threads after account deletion, the only way to remove conversations from a friend’s inbox is to manually delete them.
Here are the steps your friend can take to delete a full conversation thread you had together:
- Open the Facebook Messenger app and go to your messages.
- Tap on the conversation thread you want to delete.
- Tap on the contact name at the top of the thread.
- Tap on the 3 dots icon in the top-right corner.
- Select ‘Delete Conversation’.
- Confirm that you want to delete the entire conversation.
This will permanently delete the full history of messages between you and your friend. They will no longer be able to access any part of the conversation.
The same method can be used on the Facebook website:
- Go to facebook.com and log into your account.
- Click on the Messenger icon.
- Open the conversation thread you want to delete.
- Click on the contact name at the top of the thread.
- Click on the 3 dots icon next to the contact name.
- Select ‘Delete Conversation’.
- Confirm that you want to delete the entire thread.
So if you want certain conversations permanently erased from your friend’s inbox, you’ll need to ask them directly to delete those threads.
Other Ways Your Data is Retained After Account Deletion
It’s important to understand that when you delete your Facebook account, some of your data will stick around:
- Messages you sent to friends remain in their inboxes.
- Your name and profile photo remain in friends’ message histories.
- Posts and photos others have shared with you may remain on Facebook.
- Facebook may retain data for analytics, advertising, and legal reasons.
Facebook states this in their Delete Account page:
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.
So if you want to completely remove all traces of yourself from Facebook, it takes more than just deleting your account. You also need to:
- Ask friends to delete any messages/photos you sent them.
- Remove your contact info from friends’ address books.
- Delete apps you have signed into with Facebook.
- Ensure Facebook partners no longer have access to your data.
This more extensive process can help eliminate additional personal data Facebook stores about you. Keep in mind Facebook may retain some usage data and analytics even after you go through these steps.
Should You Deactivate or Delete Your Facebook Account?
If you need a break from Facebook, deactivating your account is an option that temporarily hides your profile. Deactivation means:
- Your profile is hidden until you log back in.
- Some personal info may remain visible to others.
- You can reactivate your account at any time.
Account deletion is more permanent. Here’s how it works:
- Your profile is permanently removed.
- Some data is erased over a 90 day period.
- You can never reactivate your account.
- You must create a new account if you return to Facebook.
So consider whether a temporary break or full account deletion fits your needs better. Deactivation gives you more flexibility to change your mind.
Should You Notify Friends Before Deleting Your Account?
If you plan to permanently delete your Facebook account, it’s a nice courtesy to let close friends and family know in advance.
Here are some reasons you may want to notify them:
- So they aren’t surprised when your profile vanishes.
- To request they delete any messages or photos you’ve sent them.
- To allow them to download data you want them to keep.
- To invite them to connect on other platforms.
A simple post explaining that you are deleting your account soon and why can help avoid confusion. You can also message close connections directly with more details.
Just keep in mind messages will remain visible in your friends’ inboxes after your account is gone. So if you want conversations permanently erased, you’ll need to specifically make those deletion requests.
Conclusion
Deleting your Facebook account does not delete the messages you’ve sent to friends. Each message thread is retained in both users’ inboxes separately. So your messages remain visible in your friends’ accounts even after you delete your profile.
The only way to remove conversations is to manually delete threads one by one. Or request your friend delete certain messages for you. Keep this in mind if you want full conversations permanently erased when you delete your account.
While some data is eventually deleted, Facebook retains some personal information for analytic and legal purposes after account deletion. So deleting your account does not result in a complete removal of all your data from Facebook’s systems.