Many Facebook users reach a point where they want to delete large portions of their Facebook history. This could be due to privacy concerns, wanting a fresh start on the platform, or simply to clear out old content. Fortunately, Facebook provides tools to help users delete almost everything they’ve posted, though the process takes some time and effort.
In this article, we’ll walk through the steps to clear your entire Facebook history, from posts to photos to likes and more. We’ll cover how to:
- Delete posts you’ve shared
- Unlike pages you follow
- Delete uploaded photos and videos
- Clear your search history
- Disable future Facebook tracking
With the right approach, you can remove years’ worth of Facebook activity and start fresh. However, keep in mind that deleting your Facebook history is not reversible. Once content is removed, it’s gone for good.
Part 1: Deleting Your Facebook Posts
The most direct way to clean up your Facebook history is by deleting your own posts. This removes status updates, shared links, check-ins, and other content you’ve posted on your timeline over the years.
Here are the steps to delete Facebook posts in bulk:
- Go to your Facebook timeline by clicking on your profile picture in the top left. This opens your personal timeline.
- Click on the three horizontal dots next to any post, then select “Manage Posts.”
- This will open your archive of posts. From here, you can sort and filter to find posts you want to delete.
- To delete a single post, click the three dots icon on that post and select “Delete.”
- To delete multiple posts, select all the posts you want removed using the checkbox, then click “Delete” at the top.
- Click “Confirm” on the popup to finalize deleting your posts.
Repeat this process until you’ve combed through your timeline and deleted old posts as desired. Keep in mind that some types of posts, like those you’re tagged in or Life Events, can’t be deleted this way. We’ll cover how to remove those types of posts later.
Unfortunately, bulk post deletion only lets you remove 100 posts at a time. So deleting years of accumulated posts takes patience. But this method gives you precise control to curate and remove your Facebook timeline content.
How to delete posts you’re tagged in
Posts that friends have tagged you in can’t be removed from your timeline directly. However, you can ask the original poster to delete them or untag you. Here’s how:
- Find any post on your timeline you’re tagged in and want removed.
- Hover over the date and click the arrow icon to open post options.
- Select “Report Post” or “Give Feedback on This Post.”
- Choose “I don’t like this post” and select “This post is on my profile and I don’t like it.”
- Ask the poster to remove the tag or delete the post entirely.
The original poster can then take action to get the unwanted post off your profile. Keep in mind there’s no guarantee they will comply with your request. But this is the only method to purge “tagged” posts from Facebook.
Removing Life Events posts
The Life Events feature lets you share milestone moments like marriages, births, anniversaries and more. But these permanent posts can’t be removed through the standard deletion options.
To delete a Life Event post:
- Go to your Facebook timeline and click “Life Events” in the left sidebar.
- Click the three dots next to the event you want to delete.
- Select “Delete Life Event” to remove it from Facebook.
This will permanently delete that major life memory. Use this judiciously for removing especially sensitive events you don’t want memorialized.
Part 2: Unliking Pages and Groups
Beyond your own posts, the next area to clean up is all the pages and groups you’ve liked over the years. Just a couple likes a week adds up to thousands that clutter your profile. Here’s how to unlike pages en masse:
- Click the “Liked” dropdown under your profile picture.
- Click “More” to open your full list of liked pages.
- Scroll down while systematically selecting every page you want to unlike.
- Click “Unlike Page” at the top to remove all selected pages.
- Click “Confirm” to complete unliking the pages.
Similarly, you can unlike joined groups by:
- Going to your profile then clicking “Groups” in the left sidebar.
- Using the “Joined” dropdown to see groups you’ve joined.
- Clicking the “X” icon next to groups to remove yourself from them.
Scrubbing liked pages and joined groups helps tighten up your Facebook presence. Be sure to leave pages you actively follow or engage with so you don’t miss updates.
Part 3: Deleting Photos and Videos
Photos and videos also accumulate over years of Facebook use. And anything you upload gets added to your profile media library permanently. To remove these uploads completely:
- Click the “Photos” link in the left sidebar of your profile.
- Click “Albums” to see all your photo albums.
- Hover over any album and click “Options” to the right.
- Choose “Delete Album” to permanently remove the album.
To manage individual photos and videos:
- Click “Photos” then “Photos of You” to see all media uploads.
- Hover over a photo or video and click “Options.”
- Select “Move to Recycle Bin” to delete that item.
Posts, stories, and albums with your media will remain, but the uploads themselves will be erased.
Removing profile pictures
Deleting your current and past profile pictures requires visiting Facebook’s “About” section:
- Go to your profile then click “About” in the left sidebar.
- Click the profile pictures shown under “Profile Pictures.”
- Click “Options” on photos you want to remove.
- Select “Delete Profile Picture” to remove them.
This ensures no old profile pics stick around once you’ve deleted them.
Deleting multimedia from Messenger
To clear out visual content sent through Messenger:
- Open the Messenger app and tap your profile pic.
- Tap “Media, Links and Docs” to see your sent media.
- Tap and hold any item then choose “Delete.”
- Review and confirm deleting the selected media.
Repeat for all unwanted media in your conversations. This removes visual clutter from your Messenger history.
Part 4: Clearing Your Facebook Search History
Each search you perform gets logged to your account’s search history. Facebook uses this to improve future results, but the records stick around permanently.
To view and delete this search history:
- Click the search bar at the top of any Facebook page.
- Click “Recent Searches” below the search field.
- Click “Clear Searches” at the very bottom.
- Confirm clearing your full search history.
This wipes all past searches from your account in one step. However, new searches will begin logging again automatically.
Turning off search history tracking
You can prevent Facebook from ever recording your search history again via:
- Clicking the down arrow at the top right of any page.
- Choosing “Settings & Privacy” > “Settings.”
- Clicking “Your Facebook Information” in the left sidebar.
- Selecting “Offline Activity.”
- Scrolling down and toggling “Future searches and comments” to off.
With search history tracking disabled, your searches remain private as you continue using Facebook.
Part 5: Limiting Future Facebook Tracking
Even after scrubbing your years of Facebook history, their tracking continues logging your new activity. Turn these options off to maintain greater privacy moving forward:
Face recognition
Facebook automatically detects faces in photos to suggest tags. Prevent this facial recognition starting now via:
- Click the down arrow > “Settings & Privacy”
- Select “Settings” > “Face Recognition”
- Choose “No” under “Do you want Facebook to be able to recognize you in photos and videos?”
This stops Facebook from continually improving facial recognition based on your uploads.
Location History
Every check-in and city tag gets added to your location history. Turn this tracking off by:
- Going to “Settings & Privacy” > “Settings.”
- Clicking “Location” in the left sidebar.
- Toggling “Location History” to off.
You can still share locations manually. But background tracking won’t log your geographic activity.
Ad interests
Facebook collects your activity and interests to show “relevant” ads. Reset this tracking by:
- Visiting “Settings & Privacy” > “Settings.”
- Clicking “Ads” in the left sidebar.
- Selecting “Clear Ad Topics.”
This erases all your defined ad interests so Facebook cannot cater ads to you anymore.
Conclusion
It takes effort, but you can erase years of Facebook activity through bulk deletion of posts, media, interests, and more. Just be mindful that removing Facebook history is permanent. Back up anything you may want to preserve.
Also keep in mind that previously deleted data may persist in Facebook’s backups or archives indefinitely. But clearing your personal account activity can help tighten up privacy.
Moving forward, limit Facebook’s tracking and recognition features to maintain greater control. With diligence, you can keep your Facebook presence tidy and tailored to how you want to present yourself.