How to Temporarily Deactivating Your Facebook Account

1

Understand the difference between deactivation and deletion. If you want to get rid of your Facebook account, but you think there's a chance, however small, that you may return in the future, consider deactivating your account rather than

permanently deleting it. This "soft" method gives you most of the benefits of account deletion while saving you the hassle of making a whole new account if you ever come back to Facebook. Before making your decision, it's important to understand how deactivation differs (and does not differ) from deletion. See below:

• Deactivating your account makes your timeline invisible to others, but keeps its information saved. This includes photos, friends, interests, etc.
• People can still invite you to events and tag you in posts when your account is deactivated, though you won't necessarily be made aware of this.
• Deactivation is effective immediately, as is reactivation.
• A deactivated account will stay deactivated indefinitely until you reactivate it, but will never be deleted without your approval.
• Reactivation requires your login information.

2

Visit your security settings page. If you'd like to deactivate your account, rather than delete it entirely, sart by going to your security settings page. After logging into Facebook, click the downward-pointing triangle in the top right corner and select "Settings" from the drop down menu. On the next page, click the small "Security" icon in the top left (this will be labeled with a golden badge).

3

Click the “Deactivate your account” link. On your security settings page, at the bottom of the screen, you should see a small link that says "Deactivate your account". Clicking this link will take you a screen that explains the deactivation process to you and attempts to convince you to stay with pictures of friends who will miss you. Scroll past these pictures to continue.

4

Fill out the form for deactivating your account. To confirm your account deactivation, you'll need to check one of the provided reasons for leaving. You can also type a short message explaining your situation, though this is not required. When you're ready, click the "Confirm" button. Type in your password when prompted and your account will officially be deactivated.

• If you don't want to receive ongoing email notifications from Facebook, don't forget to check the optional box at the bottom of the deactivation form which opts you out of further emails.

Tips

• Download and back up any photos or other information you want to save before deleting your account. To find the "download" option go to "General Account Settings">"Download a copy of your data". This will allow you to download a copy of your data directly from Facebook.

Warnings

• Bear in mind that you will not be able to restore your account after the 2 weeks of the permanent deletion process have passed.
• Be aware that Facebook may still retain information from your account in their databases (they have been unclear about whether they do this). Even though it may never be given out in public, authorities can ask for this information.

Read more

How to Permanently Delete a Facebook Account