How to Delete Your Facebook Account and Review What Remains (2026)

Deleting the Facebook app does not delete your Facebook account. If you want to leave Facebook, use Meta's current account-deletion controls while signed in and read the confirmation screen before submitting the request.

Meta's Help Center distinguishes deactivation from deletion. Deactivation is a temporary way to make an account less visible while keeping a route back. Deletion starts a separate process. Meta's current help guidance says the time available to cancel can vary by region, that it may take up to 90 days from the beginning of deletion to remove posted content, and that backup copies or information retained for legal, terms, safety, or security reasons may remain longer.

This guide is based on Meta's current account-deletion help guidance and Meta's regional privacy information. Menus and account relationships change, so use the labels shown in your current Accounts Center if they differ.

Last reviewed: August 25, 2026. Meta can change menu labels, regional windows, and product relationships; use the live notice shown for your account as the final authority.

Quick answer

If you only want a break, choose deactivation. Do not select deletion merely to change a name, email, audience setting, or login method.

Export your information first

After account deletion, access to Facebook's download tools may no longer be available. If you want photos, videos, posts, comments, messages, account information, or other available categories, request a copy while you can still sign in.

The current path is generally:

1. Open Facebook and choose the profile menu.
2. Open Settings and privacy.
3. Open Accounts Center.
4. Choose Your information and permissions.
5. Choose Download your information or the current equivalent.
6. Select the Facebook account and choose the categories, date range, format, and destination offered by Meta.
7. Submit the request and download the archive from the account area when it becomes available.

The available categories and file options can change. Do not assume that the export includes every system record, every message recipient's copy, or data held by another Meta product. Keep the archive private because it can contain sensitive information about you and other people.

Review Facebook Login and linked products

Before closing the account, review Apps and websites or the equivalent Accounts Center area. If a third-party service uses Facebook Login, open that service and add another login method before deleting Facebook. Otherwise, you may lose access to the third-party account even though the service itself still exists.

Review Pages, groups, business tools, subscriptions, and linked Meta products separately. If other people need a Page or group to remain active, transfer the appropriate administrative role before deletion when Meta's current controls allow it. Do not assume that deleting Facebook deletes every related account, asset, purchase, or business record; read the notice shown for the specific account.

Meta's deletion help specifically says that deleting a Facebook account also deletes associated Meta Quest information when the Facebook account was used to log in, including listed purchases, achievements, and store credits. Check the product-specific notice before confirming.

If a service was billed through an app store or another provider, check that provider's subscription controls separately. Account deletion is not a universal billing-cancellation instruction.

How to delete Facebook through Accounts Center

The current workflow is usually:

1. Sign in to Facebook in the app or a browser.
2. Open Settings and privacy, then Settings.
3. Open Accounts Center.
4. Choose Personal details.
5. Choose Account ownership and control.
6. Choose Deactivation or deletion.
7. Select the Facebook profile you want to close.
8. Select Delete account, then choose Continue.
9. Review the reason, affected products, and notices.
10. Authenticate and confirm the deletion request.

You can also start from Facebook's official deletion help route after signing in. If the route redirects, use Accounts Center. Do not enter your password into a look-alike page or give it to a removal service.

What the cancellation and deletion periods mean

Meta's current help guidance says that logging in during the applicable cancellation period can cancel the deletion request. Some official help pages describe 30 days, while Meta also notes that the number of days can vary by region. Follow the current confirmation notice for the exact account.

Meta also says it may take up to 90 days from the beginning of deletion to remove all posted content. That is a platform process description, not a promise that every external copy or every internal record disappears on day 90. Meta says copies may remain in backup storage after that period for disaster recovery, software error, or another loss event, and information may be retained for legal, terms, safety, or harm-prevention reasons.

These boundaries matter:

• A profile can become unavailable before every deletion operation is complete.
• A cancellation window is not a universal legal deadline for a separate privacy-rights request.
• Meta does not control Google, Bing, the Internet Archive, another account, or a connected service.
• A message, photo, screenshot, download, repost, or group copy may be handled separately from the account that created it.

Do not log in casually after requesting deletion. If you need account recovery because of compromise, use Meta's security and recovery process and read the effect on the deletion request before continuing.

Copies outside Facebook

Account deletion is not a universal internet-removal request. Separate copies may include:

• photos, videos, or screenshots saved by another person;
• posts or media shared by another account;
• messages or attachments received by another participant;
• content exported to a connected app or business tool;
• search-engine results that have not refreshed; and
• data processed by a different Meta product or an unrelated provider.

If another account owns the post or photo, contact that account or use the platform's applicable privacy, impersonation, harassment, or copyright route. If a search result points to a page that is unavailable or materially changed, review Google's Refresh Outdated Content tool and Bing's Content Removal guidance. Search engines decide whether a request qualifies, and there is no universal refresh time.

Facebook deletion also does not establish what a separate data broker collected, whether a particular broker received your information, or whether an external model or archive contains a copy. Verify the actual provider profile before making a request.

Privacy rights and legal requests

Meta's current U.S. Regional Privacy Notice describes access, correction, deletion, and other rights for eligible U.S. requests, subject to jurisdiction, data, verification, and exceptions. The California Attorney General's CCPA overview is a starting point for eligible California requests, not a universal deletion timetable for every Facebook user or record.

The GDPR and other privacy laws can create rights when their scope and conditions apply. Response periods, identity checks, exceptions, controllers, and complaint routes vary. Use Meta's current privacy channel and the law that actually applies; do not copy a fixed deadline from another country's guide.

If the account contains evidence relevant to harassment, impersonation, employment, litigation, or another high-stakes matter, preserve what you need before deletion and consider qualified legal advice.

Post-deletion checklist

• [ ] Export the information you want to keep.
• [ ] Add alternative logins to third-party services that use Facebook Login.
• [ ] Review Pages, groups, business tools, subscriptions, and linked Meta products.
• [ ] Verify the exact Facebook profile selected in Accounts Center.
• [ ] Save the deletion confirmation privately.
• [ ] Follow the current region-specific cancellation notice.
• [ ] Search for important public URLs after the account action completes.
• [ ] Use search-engine tools only when the source page is unavailable or the request otherwise qualifies.
• [ ] Contact owners of independent copies through their own routes.
• [ ] Do not share your password or full archive with a removal vendor.

Frequently asked questions

Does deleting the Facebook app delete my account?

No. Uninstalling the app removes it from the device; it does not submit an account-deletion request.

Can I recover my Facebook account after requesting deletion?

Meta's current help guidance describes a cancellation window and notes that the number of days can vary by region. Follow the current prompt for your account. After permanent deletion, the account and information described by Meta as deleted cannot be recovered through the ordinary account controls.

Does deleting Facebook delete Messenger messages?

Do not assume that every recipient copy or message record is handled identically. Review Meta's current notice and remember that another participant may retain a copy, screenshot, or export.

Does deleting Facebook delete Instagram or another Meta account?

Not automatically in every situation. Accounts Center shows the products and accounts connected to your setup; review and manage each one separately.

Does Facebook deletion remove Google results?

No. Facebook does not control Google's index. After the source page is unavailable, review Google's current outdated-content process. There is no guaranteed refresh time.

Can I ask Meta to delete additional information without closing my account?

Depending on the jurisdiction and request, Meta may offer privacy-rights routes for access, correction, or deletion. Eligibility, verification, exceptions, and response rules vary. Use Meta's current privacy channel rather than an old form or email address.

Official sources

• Meta Help Center: permanently delete a Facebook account
• Facebook account deletion help route
• Facebook Help Center: access or download information
• Facebook Help Center: About Accounts Center
• Meta U.S. regional privacy notice
• California Attorney General: CCPA
• Google Refresh Outdated Content tool
• Bing Content Removal and privacy request guidance

For broader privacy work, use the complete data-broker opt-out guide, the account-deletion guides, and the Instagram account-deletion guide. OfflistMe can help you review recorded provider workflows, but you choose the route and submit each request yourself.