Many iPhone users have Facebook installed on their devices. The Facebook app allows you to conveniently access Facebook services like News Feed, Messages, Notifications and more directly from your iPhone. However, some users may wish to delete the Facebook app from their iPhone for various reasons like privacy concerns, storage space or just wanting to reduce distractions. So what exactly happens when you delete Facebook from your iPhone? Here’s a quick overview:
When you delete the Facebook app from your iPhone, you are removing the app itself from your device. This means the Facebook app will no longer be installed on your iPhone and you will not be able to open or use it. However, deleting the Facebook app does not delete your Facebook account or any of the data associated with it.
Your Facebook profile, photos, videos, messages, friends list and all other account data remains intact and is still accessible from a web browser when you visit www.facebook.com from your iPhone. You just lose the ability to directly access Facebook from a dedicated app on your iPhone.
The only data that gets deleted is any app data like cached information that was stored locally on your iPhone by the Facebook app. This is usually just temporary data that the app uses to optimize performance.
In summary, here’s what happens when you delete Facebook from your iPhone:
- The Facebook app is removed from your iPhone and you can no longer open or use it
- Your Facebook account and all associated data remains fully intact and accessible from a web browser
- Any temporary app data cached on your device gets deleted
Now let’s go into more details on the impact of deleting the Facebook app from your iPhone.
You Lose the Facebook App But Keep Your Account
The key thing to understand is that deleting the Facebook app does not delete your Facebook account or any of your profile information, photos, videos, messages, friends list, group memberships or anything else associated with your account.
All of that data lives in Facebook’s servers on the internet, not locally on your iPhone. So whether you have the Facebook app installed on your device or not, your account and data persists and remains fully intact.
The only thing that gets removed when you delete the app is the software program itself – the Facebook app that provides a convenient way to access your account from your iPhone. But your account remains fully open, active and available over the internet.
You Can Still Access Facebook from Web Browser
While you lose the native app when you delete Facebook from your iPhone, you can still access your account and all its data from the Safari or Chrome web browser on your iPhone.
Simply visit www.facebook.com from your iPhone’s browser and log into your account. You can then view your News Feed, check notifications, message friends, share photos and do everything else you would normally do on the Facebook app.
The web interface is very similar to the mobile app. You just don’t get native features like push notifications without the app installed. But otherwise, you have full access to your Facebook account on your iPhone’s browser.
No Impact on Account Security
Deleting the Facebook app does not affect the security of your Facebook account in any way. Your login credentials remain the same.
The app is just a convenient portal to your account data. Removing the app does not change your password, enable two-factor authentication, or have any other account security impacts.
Friends, Groups, Pages Remain Intact
All your friends and social connections that you have established on Facebook remain completely intact when you delete the app from your iPhone.
Your friends list, group memberships, liked pages and followed profiles are all stored in Facebook’s servers, not in the app. So removing the app does not impact any of those social graphs and connections.
You actually have to go and actively delete friends or leave groups/pages to remove those connections. Just deleting the app does nothing to them.
App Data is Deleted, Account Data Remains
As mentioned earlier, the only data that gets deleted when you remove the Facebook app is data that was stored locally by the app on your iPhone.
This is typically cached information like your News Feed posts, copies of photos/videos, navigation preferences, and other temporary usage data that apps will save locally to optimize performance.
With the app gone, any data it had stored on your device gets removed as well. But keep in mind this is only temporary operational data, not your core account information.
You May Need to Relogin to Websites
Many websites and apps give you the option to “Login with Facebook” for convenience. When you do this, the website authenticates you via the Facebook app.
With the app removed, you may get logged out of websites or need to reauthenticate using your actual credentials instead of Facebook login.
But again, your account itself remains 100% intact – you just may need to relogin to third-party services that were using Facebook for authentication.
Device Storage Space Is Freed Up
Deleting unused apps from your iPhone is an easy way to free up local storage space.
The Facebook app can take up over 100MB of data on your device. Removing it gives you back that storage capacity for other apps, photos, videos, etc.
So if you’re low on storage, deleting the Facebook app along with other unneeded apps can be an quick way to clear space on your iPhone.
Temporary Files are Cleared Out
In addition to freeing up storage space, removing the app also deletes any temporary files that were stored locally by the app.
Things like cached memory, logs, cookies, remnants from old updates, and other clutter the app leaves behind get wiped from your iPhone when you delete the app.
This gives you a “clean slate” if you ever decide to reinstall Facebook later on.
Push Notifications Stop
One of the key features of the Facebook mobile app is push notifications – alerts and messages delivered directly to your iPhone’s lock screen.
With the app deleted, here is what happens to Facebook notifications on your device:
You Stop Getting Push Alerts
Push notifications are delivered via the app itself. So once you delete the app, all Facebook-related push notifications stop being sent to your iPhone.
This includes things like notifications when someone tags you, messages you, or invites you to events. Without the app, those real-time alerts are not pushed to your device.
Badges No Longer Update
The badge icons that appear on the Facebook app icon showing the number of unread notifications also disappear.
Your iPhone no longer receives updates on how many unseen Facebook notifications you have, since the app is gone.
You Must Check Facebook Itself
To see your latest Facebook notifications, you must manually open Facebook in your mobile browser and check for updates.
Without push, you lose real-time visibility into Facebook alerts unless you regularly check in on the site for new notifications.
Using Facebook Features Without the App
While push notifications and some other conveniences go away, you can still use core Facebook features through the mobile website after deleting the app. Here are some of the key capabilities still available:
Posting Status Updates
You can post text, photo and video updates to your News Feed through www.facebook.com on your iPhone browser. Just tap the status box as you normally would in the app.
Commenting and Liking
Reading News Feed and interacting with posts by liking, commenting, and sharing still works in mobile web. Just tap on any post to bring up interactive options.
Messenger Website
You can access Facebook Messenger and chat with friends at www.messenger.com. While not as full-featured as the app, you can still message and call contacts.
Notifications Page
To see your latest notifications, simply go to www.facebook.com/notifications on your mobile browser. This page shows a feed of your latest unseen notifications.
Events and Groups
Facebook’s online Events and Groups interfaces remain fully functional through the mobile site, allowing you to browse events, RSVP, and engage with your groups.
So while the native app provides the smoothest experience, you can still actively use Facebook’s core features right from your iPhone’s browser.
Reinstalling the Facebook App
If you change your mind later on, reinstalling the Facebook app on your iPhone is quick and easy:
Download from the App Store
Just head to the App Store, search for “Facebook” and tap Get to reinstall the app. The latest version will download like normal.
Log In to Your Account
Once Facebook finishes installing, open it up and log into your account using your email/password or Facebook Connect.
Your account and all associated data instantly syncs upon logging in.
Adjust Notification Settings
If you want push notifications again, head into Settings > Notifications and adjust notification permissions as desired for Facebook.
And that’s it! The app will be perfectly restored as if you never removed it in the first place.
Conclusion
Deleting the Facebook app from your iPhone removes the app itself from your device, but does not impact your actual Facebook account or any of its data. You can still fully access Facebook from the mobile browser, but lose conveniences like push notifications. Reinstalling the app is easy if you change your mind later on. Ultimately, removing the app mostly just impacts the user experience, not your account or privacy in any substantial way. Carefully consider if you still want fast access to notifications and messaging before deciding to delete the Facebook app from your iPhone.