How to Deactivate Facebook Account Temporarily
Social platforms like Facebook walk a fine line between being handy and consuming your whole life. Whether your screen time notification says you’ve spent a horrendous amount of time on your phone today, or you just don’t feel the need to share every inch of your life on a news feed anymore — it might be time to finally pull the plug on your online life and delete your account temporarily… or forever
Instead of heading straight for the “delete account” page, consider a more temporary alternative. Merely deactivating your Facebook is far less of a commitment than impulsively deleting your account, and losing all your photos, friends, and other virtual memories permanently.
How do I temporarily deactivate my Facebook account?
You can deactivate your account temporarily and choose to come back whenever you want.
To deactivate your account:
- Click at the top right of any Facebook page.
- Click Settings, then click Your Facebook Information in the left column.
- Click Deactivation and Deletion.
- Choose Deactivate Account, then click Continue to Account Deactivation and follow the instructions to confirm.
When your account is deactivated:
- No one else can see your profile.
- Some information, like messages you sent to friends, may still be visible.
- Your friends may still see your name in their friend’s list. This is only visible to your friends, and only from their friend’s list.
- Group admins may still be able to see your posts and comments, along with your name.
Keep in mind that if you choose to keep Messenger active or are logged into Messenger when you deactivate your Facebook account, then Messenger will remain active. Learn how to deactivate Messenge.
When your Facebook account is deactivated, but you still have Messenger:
- You can still chat with friends on Messenger.
- Your Facebook profile picture will still be visible in your conversations on Messenger.
- Other people can search for you to send you a message.
Reactivating your account:
If you’d like to come back to Facebook after you’ve deactivated your account, you can reactivate your account at any time by logging back into Facebook or by using your Facebook account to log in somewhere else. Remember, you’ll need to have access to the email or mobile number you use to log in to complete the reactivation.
