Want to distance yourself from Facebook? Depending on whether it’s for a break or forever, you can deactivate or delete your account.

Deactivation or deletion?

There are two ways to “close” a Facebook account: one temporary, deactivation; the other final, deletion.

The first option is in fact to put the account to sleep. Your profile will be deactivated and you will be “invisible”. Your name and photos will no longer appear in most of your posts, but some information – your name on someone else’s friends list or messages you’ve exchanged with your friends, for example – may still be available. available. The advantage is that this action is temporary. All your data is kept, and you can reactivate your account whenever you want. It is the gentle method of withdrawing from the network. In addition,

The second option is much more radical. By deleting your account, all your data will be permanently deleted: your profile, your photos, your publications, your videos, as well as all the elements you have added will be irretrievably deleted. Above all, you will never have access to your account again.

It is therefore best to start with deactivation before considering a complete removal. And make a backup of personal information linked to the account before opting for this option.

This article describes how to work with the web version of Facebook, accessible through a browser. You can easily adapt it to apps on Android and iOS, including the light version, Facebook Lite.

How to deactivate a Facebook account?

- Open your usual web browser and log into your Facebook account.
- On your Facebook page, click on the little black arrow to the right of the blue menu.

From the menu that pops up, select Settings .
On the new page, select General , from the list on the left.
Then click on the Account Management section in the central area.
Scroll down to the paragraph Deactivate your account .
Click Disable and follow the steps to confirm.

Your account is deactivated. However, you can access it normally whenever you want. Your profile will then be fully restored.

How to delete Facebook account?

Open your usual web browser and log into your Facebook account. On your Facebook page, click on the little black arrow to the right of the blue menu.
From the drop-down menu, select Settings .
Click on Your Facebook information in the left column.
Click in the Delete your account and information area in the central part.

In the new page that appears, three options are offered.

You can still at this stage simply deactivate your account by clicking on the appropriate button.

If you want to keep the data related to your account (posts, messages, photos, etc.), click on the Download button and follow the steps.

When you are sure you are, click the Remove Account button .

Then enter your password, click on Continue , then on Delete account

The deletion is not immediate. You can cancel it within 30 days of the request. After this period, your account and all your information will be permanently deleted and you will no longer be able to recover them. It may take up to 90 days to remove the content you added from the time you initiate the process.