Having multiple Facebook profiles can be confusing and make your online presence disjointed. Here are some tips for removing a second, unused Facebook profile.
Why You Might Have a Second Profile
There are a few common reasons why you may have ended up with more than one Facebook profile:
- You signed up for Facebook again after taking a break from using it
- You created a separate profile for business or organization purposes
- Someone else created a fake profile pretending to be you
- You made a test profile when first joining Facebook
Regardless of how it happened, having multiple profiles can cause problems. Your connections and information will be split across accounts, making it harder for people to find and connect with the real you. Getting rid of extra profiles helps present one clear, consolidated identity on Facebook.
Locating Your Profiles
The first step is figuring out what profiles exist for you on Facebook. Here’s how to find profiles linked to your name or email address:
- Go to your primary profile and click on your name or profile picture in the top left. This will show a menu.
- Select “View As…” from the menu. This allows you to preview your profile as others would see it.
- While in preview mode, click on your name or profile picture again.
- A box will pop up showing any other existing profiles associated with your info. These may be profiles you need to remove.
You can also try searching for your name on Facebook directly to see if any other profiles appear. Or use your email address to search – any profiles created with that same address will show up.
Deleting a Profile
Once you’ve identified the extra profiles, it’s time to delete them:
- Go to the profile you want to remove and click the three dots or down arrow in the top right corner. Select “Settings”.
- Click “Personal and account information” in the left sidebar.
- Open the “Account ownership and control” section and select “Deactivate your account”.
- Follow the on-screen instructions to permanently delete the profile.
Things to note about deleting a Facebook profile:
- It can take up to 90 days for Facebook to fully delete all data from a removed profile.
- You’ll need to log into the profile you’re deleting to remove it.
- Take note of any pages, groups or events you manage from that profile – you’ll lose access when it’s deleted.
- Download any photos or other info you want to save before removing the profile.
Merging Multiple Profiles
If you have two or more active profiles you want to combine, you can merge them:
- Log into the profile you want to be your main profile moving forward.
- Go to your profile menu and select “Settings & Privacy” then “Settings”.
- Choose “Personal and account information” then open “Account ownership and control”.
- Select “Merge accounts” and follow the prompts to add your other profile.
Merging Facebook profiles will:
- Transfer all friends from your secondary profile to your primary one
- Move photos, posts and other info to your main profile
- Delete your secondary profile after the merge
Keep in mind you can only merge profiles that have the exact same name. And you’ll need the password for both accounts to complete the merge.
Dealing With Fake Profiles
If you find a profile impersonating you, you can report it to Facebook for removal:
- Go to the fake profile and click the three dots icon in the top right corner.
- Select “Find support or report profile” then choose “Pretending to be me or someone I know”.
- Follow the on-screen instructions to submit a report to Facebook.
Provide as much detail as possible in your report to help Facebook identify the profile as fake. Let them know if the account is using your photos or personal information without consent.
Changing Your Username
If you have multiple profiles because you created a new account just to claim a different username, you can change your existing username instead of deleting a profile.
- Go to your profile and click “Edit public details” under your name.
- Enter the new username you want and click “Review Change”.
- Confirm the change to apply it.
Your profile’s web address will update to reflect the new username after 14 days. You can then delete the extra profile you created just for a different name.
Recovering Data From a Deleted Profile
If you already deleted a Facebook profile without saving important info from it, you may be able to recover some data:
- Download your Facebook data – You can request an archive containing your posts, photos and other content from a deleted profile up to 1 year after deletion.
- Check associations – Log into another associated account like Instagram or Messenger to see if any old Facebook data is still connected.
- Contact friends – Reach out to people you were connected with on your old profile to ask if they can share any info or photos you appeared in.
- Search online – Google your name and username to see if any archived Facebook info still exists on other sites.
Recovering substantial data after deleting a Facebook profile is difficult, so be sure to backup anything important before removing an account.
Avoiding Multiple Profiles in the Future
Once you get your Facebook profiles consolidated, follow these tips to avoid duplicates in the future:
- Only maintain one personal account at a time.
- Create business or organization pages rather than profiles.
- Don’t make new accounts as “tests” – use your existing profile.
- Link your Instagram, Messenger and Oculus accounts to your main profile.
- Update your primary email and password if you created profiles with other addresses.
Conclusion
Having multiple Facebook profiles clutter up your online identity and cause confusion. Delete or merge any extra profiles to present one clear presence on Facebook moving forward. Just be sure to download any important info from secondary profiles before removing them.