How to Delete All Social Media (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram & More!)
Disappearing from social media entirely isn’t nearly as difficult as you might think.
There are even services dedicated to wiping your social media presences off the map, leaving 0 trace that you were ever on social media.
In this article, we’ll walk you through how to delete Facebook, IG, Snapchat, Linkedin, and TikTok for good quickly, plus show you an awesome service that lets you manage your online presence.
Ready to break that crippling addiction? You’ve come to the right blog!
Table of Contents
How to Delete Facebook
Here’s how to permanently delete Facebook. But fair warning, if you do, you won’t be able to use it to log in to any other apps or services if they’re already connected. There might be a better option.
Anyways, back to deleting it.
- Click on the
button
- Click Settings then Your Facebook Information
- Click Deactivation and Deletion
- Click Permanently Delete Account, then click Continue to Account Deactivation
From there, you just enter your password and delete. Congrats, Mark Zuckerberg can longer see everything you do at all times.
To Delete or Only Deactivate?: That is the Question
If you delete your Facebook account, you will:
- Lose all of your photos and videos
- Lose access to Messenger
- Be unable to log in to any app that’s connected to your account
- Ever retrieve your account
That’s pretty rough actually. You probably use Facebook for most of your phone apps, AirBnb, or games, and for all those memories you cherish (Or cringe at the thought of).
If you don’t want to permanently lose all of that, here’s a better solution:
How to Temporarily Deactivate Your Account
Follow all the steps above before step 4.
Once you get to step 4, choose Deactivate account instead of Permanently delete account, then click the Continue button.
What’s the Difference Between Deletion and Deactivation?
Deactivation basically makes you are invisible until you decide you can’t live without Facebook anymore.
Your profile will be hidden and you won’t appear in searches. However, your info will remain on Facebook’s servers, laying dormant awaiting your return with baited breath.
More importantly, Messenger will still be active, so you can chat with friends, family, or business contacts. Say what you will about FB, but it’s an incredible communication tool, so keeping Messenger is worth considering.
NOTE: According to Lifehacker, deletion actually takes two full weeks, and you CANNOT LOG INTO YOUR FACEBOOK ACCOUNT DURING THAT TIME. If you log back in, your account will go live again. So once you delete it, do nothing! Seriously, don’t do anything. Just leave it.
How to Delete Instagram
Instagram gives you the same options as Facebook: Deactivate or Delete. But you can only do it from your browser – NOT THE MOBILE APP. Remember, they want to make it as difficult as possible to delete your account.
Go to your profile icon and click Edit Profile:
Next, click Edit Profile:
Scroll down and select Temporarily disable my account:
You’ll need to enter your password to complete the process.
If you want to permanently delete your IG, here’s what to do:
IG forces you to log in through the web and use the permanently delete request link.
Once you do that, select a reason why you’re deleting your account from the dropdown menu.
How to Delete Twitter
Not sure why you were even on Twitter to begin with. But if you want to delete it, here’s what to do.
Select the 3 dots “More” from the menu at the left side of your profile.
Then select Settings and privacy:
On the following page, look at the section in the bottom right corner. There you’ll find the link to deactivating your account at the bottom:
Once you confirm, you’re all set. Wait 30 days and your account will be deleted. According to Twitter, the company only stores your data for about a month before giving up and facing the fact you’ll never be coming back.
How to Delete TikTok
Has TikTok finally zapped every ounce of faith in humanity out of your system?
Don’t worry, deleting it is actually way easier than all the other apps.
Here’s what to do:
- Go the Me section in the bottom right
- Click on the in the top right corner
- Select Manage My Account > Delete Account
- Press the Delete my account button
- Confirm that you wish to delete your account
- Depending on how you signed up you may have to enter certain passwords or confirmation codes to fully delete your TikTok
Your account will be permanently deleted in 30 days. During that time it will not be visible to the public.
How to Delete Snapchat
Delete Snapchat by going to the Accounts Portal and entering your username and password.
From this menu, select DELETE MY ACCOUNT.
From there, deleting your account is really simple, just follow the steps on the next page.
Deletion takes 30 days. During that time, you can still log back in and reactivate your account. After that period, your account will be gone forever.
How to Delete Linkedin
Deleting Linkedin is actually really easy, and the company actually cares about your privacy a bit more than other big evil networks that destroy your attention span.
They will retain some of your information, but they will delete it upon request. More on that in a bit.
First, go to your “Me” section in the top right of the home page:
Then select Settings and Privacy:
Once on the next page, select Account at the top:
Scroll all the way down to the bottom to the Account Management tab and click “Closing your Linkedin account”:
Then, just choose your reason for closing your account and that’s it. You’re off the network for good.
How to Delete Pinterest
If you want to delete your Pinterest account permanently, here’s what to do:
Click the three dots in the top right corner:
Then click Edit Settings:
Down at the bottom, you’ll see the option to Deactivate Account:
Now, just choose your reason and your account will be closed for good.
All you have to do is answer the verification email sent to you after you choose to delete your account permanently. That’s all! See ya Pinterest!
Deseat.me: Clean up Your Online Presence
Deseat.me turns chaos into order by cleaning up your online presence for you.
Just sign up, give them access to your email (Could be a deal breaker), and they show you everything that you’ve signed up for.
EVERYTHING!
Then, it automates the entire removal request process. Just select the services you’re not using anymore, and Deseat.me sends a removal request.
Sites supported include:
- Airbnb
- Slack
And many more!
If you don’t feel like deleting all of your social media manually, or aren’t even sure which social media sites you’re on, this tool will help you disappear as much or as little as you want to with almost 0 effort.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: How do I permanently delete all social media?
A: You can permanently delete all social media by going to each platform, accessing your account information, and finding the delete or deactivation option. All sites offer a way to delete your account. If not, notify the authorities.
Q: Why is deleting social media good for you?
A: Deleting social media is good for you because social media has shown to cause depression, anxiety, and attention span issues. Deleting social media frees you from constantly comparing your life to others or exposing yourself to extreme opinions or propaganda on a daily basis.
Q: How do I do a hard reset?
A: You can do a hard reset by taking note of all people you want to stay in touch with, downloading all of your photos, and downloading all of your videos to your hard drive. Then delete the accounts you no longer want to use and create new ones. From there, reupload your content and reach back out to friends and family.
Q: Can you start over fresh on Instagram?
A: No you can’t start over fresh on Instagram, but you can go back and delete old posts that are driving you crazy!
Archive Your Pictures or Posts Using Soda PDF
The one downside to deleting your social media is the fact that your hard drive will now be overloaded with tweets, pictures, videos, and other multimedia. This can quickly cause your device to be cluttered and perhaps even slow down your RAM power.
One solution is to merge all of your pictures or posts into a PDF and then archive those files as a PDF/A. The PDF/A file is an archivable format, meaning that your bulky multimedia won’t take up as much space on your device if they’re all combined into a PDF/A.
By archiving, you’ll be not only keeping your photos and posts safe and secure, you’ll also be de-cluttering your device. The PDF/A format is perfect for preventing your hard drive from being overloaded with all the media you created over the years on various social platforms.
Try Soda PDF today with a FREE download of our Desktop app, or by using our Online tools directly from your web browser.
