Instagram has been one of the most popular social media platforms we have around. While most of us spent almost the entire day scrolling through the feed, it can sometimes be too much with all the scrolling and undesirable distraction.
Well, you always have the option to delete your Instagram account anyway. Based on the fact that you want a temporary break or wish to cut the chords permanently, you are free to go ahead.
Lately, just like Facebook, Instagram has not been away from the odd privacy scandal. According to various reports from 2018, there was a security flaw reported in Instagram’s ‘Download Your Data’ feature, which leaked the passwords of many users in plain text.
This was quite ironic as the feature was actually introduced to protect users’ data and privacy and enhance security. More importantly, it intended to keep the users’ minds free after the Cambridge Analytica great leak.
Although Instagram claimed that only a few users were at risk, there are many other ways your privacy can still be at stake, for instance, automatic location tracking. The data is collected to show you related ads and know where you spend most of your time.
It also shares your activity on the platform, including comments, likes, stories, and other interactions with people online. There were many updates like the ‘seen’ notification, the status activity, and the typing bubble that upset the users. However, activity status can be disabled.
We understand that wanting to deactivate or delete an Instagram account is quite obvious for various valid reasons, and we thought of helping you do so. We will discuss all possible ways to delete it and options apart from completely deleting it.
How To Delete Instagram Account Permanently?
If you have been wondering about deleting your Instagram account permanently, here’s your guide. All you need to do is follow the below-given steps. Before you go, note the fact that you won’t be able to sign up again using your old user name once you delete an account. Also, deleted accounts cannot be reactivated on Instagram.
- Log into your Instagram account from a computer or mobile browser. We will discuss later deleting your account from the app.
- Go to the ‘Delete Your Account’ page.
- There will be a drop-down menu before you. From there, choose an option for ‘why’ you want to delete the account. The options include privacy concerns, too many ads, created a second account, concerned about my data, want to remove something, trouble getting started, and can’t find people to follow.
- Once you choose a reason, Instagram will provide you with some links to articles in the Help Center according to your reason. If you are not satisfied with the reasons mentioned here, you choose ‘Something Else’ from the drop-down menu.
- The webpage will ask you to re-enter the password for your account. Do so.
- Click on the button that says ‘Permanently delete my account.’
After clicking the ‘permanently delete my account’ button, your comments, likes, followers, and photos will be removed permanently and cannot be recovered. Also, as you know, you won’t be able to sign up with the same user name again.
If you have another Instagram account that you want to delete, from the top-right corner of the ‘Delete Your Account’ page, click on the account’s username, now, click on the settings gear option given next to it and then click on Log Out. However, the aforementioned steps can be performed when you log into the account you wish to delete.
Can You Delete Instagram Account Using The App?
You cannot actually delete an Instagram account from the Instagram app. You will only be navigated to the web link that allows you to delete the account. Follow the given steps to do so.
- Visit your profile on the Instagram app.
- There’s a hamburger menu icon (three horizontal lines) on top –right, tap on it.
- On the right-hand side, downward, click/tap on Settings.
- Go to Help.
- Tap on Help Center, and a browser window will appear.
- Go to Managing your account.
- Tap on Delete Your Account.
- Click on ‘How do I delete my account?’
- Tap on the link that leads you to the ‘Delete Your Account’ page by scrolling down.
Further, follow the same steps as mentioned earlier. Even when you want to delete your Instagram account via this process, you will be asked for a reason. Choose yours and go ahead.
Deactivating Instagram Account Instead
If you don’t want to get rid of the platform permanently, Instagram offers you the option to deactivate your account for some days. The following steps can help you temporarily deactivate your Instagram account. However, note that just like deleting, deactivating also can be done only through a web browser and not the Instagram app.
- Log into your to-be-deactivated Instagram account on the web.
- Click on the profile icon and select ‘Profile’ from the top-right.
- Now, choose the ‘Edit Profile’ option. Continue scrolling down until you find the option that says ‘Temporarily disable my account.’
- Once you click on the button to disable, Instagram will show a drop-down menu for why you want to disable your account. Once you choose an option, you will be asked to re-enter your password. These options include the ones specified earlier.
- To deactivate your Instagram account temporarily, click on the ‘Temporarily Disable Account.’
With this, your Instagram account will be deactivated for as long as you want. Whenever you wish to reactivate it, you can simply log back into it using the credentials. Until the account is not reactivated, your profile, along with your photos, comments, and likes, will all remain hidden. Remember that you can deactivate your Instagram account once a week only.
Summing Up
There’s no wrong if you wish to delete Instagram for any of the various obvious reasons, and there are ways to do it. The above-mentioned details will hopefully be useful for you to take the much-needed break from Instagram.
