Want a Way to Delete your Facebook and Never Look Back?

/ Lisa R. Howeler

Did you know if you choose to delete your Facebook account it actually takes 30 days, or more, for your account to officially disappear?

You can say you want it gone, but if you sign back in during any time in those 60 days, your account is activated again.

I Googled to see if there was a way to delete the account quicker than 30 days.

I was also feeling pathetic that I kept logging in to check stupid things (partially at the urging of my dad but that’s another issue for another day).

I felt better, however, when I read a comment on Quora where a person admitted they also kept being tempted to log back into Facebook. I have a feeling they felt better off when they were off it but — as I heard a pastor say a couple Sundays ago – the person was returning to what they were used to.

And what they and we are used to is negative news, negative thoughts, complaining, twisted up thoughts and views, drama, fear-inducing articles and declarations.

We know none of it is helping us but it is what we run back to when we are afraid, we are bored, or we are lonely.

None of that is going to fill the God-shaped hole in our chest, though. Never.

I know many of us have Facebook to keep in contact with friends and family and there is nothing wrong with that.

But how many of us have walked into a drama we had no place being in because of Facebook?

Or how many of us have involved ourselves in battles that were not ours to fight ?

Many of us, I’m sure.

So, if you’re ready to pull the plug on your Facebook, but don’t want to be tempted to log back in again, here is a good suggestion on how to do so.

  1. Create a NEW email id (you will be sacrificing it so don’t use your regular one)
  2. Go to Facebook settings and replace your regular email with the new one and verify it. Then you will be able to remove your phone number (if you had provided)
  3. Go to Facebook settings again, this time using the website on a browser that provides password suggestions, most people have chrome for that. Open the setting to change your password. Let your browser suggest you a password. Don’t try to remember it, just use it.
  4. Set your Facebook account for permanent delete.
  5. Open your browser settings and go to the place where it saves the passwords. Find facebook and delete the password.
  6. Delete the email id you created in Step 1

So far, it has worked for me. Good luck.

A quick reminder too: You don’t have to fully delete your Facebook. You can deactivate it and reactivate it when you are ready. I’ve been known to do this for weeks at a time and I think once for a month or so. There are instructions on how to do that on the Facebook site as well.

13 thoughts on “Want a Way to Delete your Facebook and Never Look Back?”

  1. Pingback: Sunday Bookends: Special Christmas Music, Christmas books, and More Snow – Boondock Ramblings

    • No worries — I’ll come clean in a later post that I left a “ghost account” so I can talk to a blogger friend. 😂😂😂 I did delete my main account and can’t interact with the one I have to it’s all good.

      Liked by 1 person

  4. I deactivated my fb page 3 weeks ago. I feel better, but then I have random friends mentioning ‘oh I saw a local mentioning they purchased your product to support local on fb. How extremely nice of that person to publicly promote you!!’…I admit, when that happens, I worry a little. I worry that I’m not there to thank those publicly declaring they support my little business. And to be honest, I get a little confused of what do. I even catch myself wondering ‘would they think I am being ungrateful by not (liking) or commenting on those fb posts’

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  6. I left Facebook and other social media a couple years ago because the negativity and pushy FB agenda wasn’t worth the connections anymore. Too disheartening and depressing! Family and close friends follow my blog, which made it easier to leave. I haven’t regretted it, I have to say. Still making my mind up about MeWe. Atmosphere is much better, but it’s still social media. Not sure I really want back in.

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    • I don’t know about MeWe either – there are still a lot of “crazies” on there too. Not you, of course! 😂 we can be the fun crazy ones there. Seriously, though, it really is just like any other social media. And I think all social media is so disheartening anymore — and that makes us think that all life is.

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  7. Good thinking! I haven’t felt tempted to ddo that yet, but my presence is very low-key – mostly to see what my kids are up to. Hardly anyone has noticed me so far.
    I suspect, though, that your game plan might be useful for other situations as well…

    Liked by 1 person

    • I think it would work for a variety of sites. I feel suffocated on Facebook. I try to stick to tame people but during the elections, FB kept pushing political ads at me and now I seem to get more and more similar ads. I also don’t really have friends on there anymore or anywhere who talk to me so I find it all a little pointless.

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