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Instagram is one of the most popular social media sites around — and one of the most addicting. If you want to tone down your Instagram habits, you can always delete or deactivate your Instagram account. The difference between the two options is that deleting your Instagram account is permanent, while deactivating is temporary and lets you get your account back later. To delete or deactivate your Instagram account, you'll need to use a desktop web browser or the web browser on your smartphone. You can't do it through the mobile app. Here's how to do both. How to delete your Instagram account permanently1. On a desktop or mobile web browser, go to the Instagram website and log into your account using your username and password. 2. Once logged in, go to the account deletion page. 3. From the drop-down menu at the top of the screen, choose the reason that you're deleting your account. 4. Once you've chosen your reason for deleting, you'll be asked to re-enter your password. Do so, and then click the blue Delete [Account Name] button. You'll have to explain why you're deleting the account. InstagramInstagram notes that it'll take a month for your data to be fully erased. Until then, your account will just be hidden from public view. How to deactivate your Instagram account temporarilyIf you think you want to recover your Instagram account later, you should disable it temporarily. This hides it from public view, but lets you restore it whenever you like. 1. Log into your Instagram account on the web and go to your profile page, then click Edit profile at the top of the page. 2. At the bottom of the page that opens, select Temporarily disable my account. The option to disable your account will be at the bottom of the page. William Antonelli/Insider3. Select a reason that you're disabling your account and re-enter your password. 4. Click Temporarily Disable Account. Give a reason and your password. William Antonelli/InsiderTo reactivate your account in the future, simply log back into the Instagram app with your username and password.
Jennifer is a writer and editor from Brooklyn, New York, who spends her time traveling, drinking iced coffee, and watching way too much TV. She has bylines in Vanity Fair, Glamour, Decider, Mic, and many more. You can find her on Twitter at @jenniferlstill. Read more Read less
William Antonelli Tech Reporter for Insider Reviews William Antonelli (he/she/they) is a writer, editor, and organizer based in New York City. As a founding member of the Reference team, he helped grow Tech Reference (now part of Insider Reviews) from humble beginnings into a juggernaut that attracts over 20 million visits a month. Outside of Insider, his writing has appeared in publications like Polygon, The Outline, Kotaku, and more. He's also a go-to source for tech analysis on channels like Newsy, Cheddar, and NewsNation. You can find him on Twitter @DubsRewatcher, or reach him by email at . Read more Read less Cloudwards.net may earn a small commission from some purchases made through our site. However, any affiliate earnings do not affect how we review services. No matter your reasoning, whether it’s privacy concerns, mental health problems or issues with productivity, deleting your Instagram account has a lot of upsides. Unfortunately, you can’t do so from within the app, so follow these steps if you want to learn how to delete Instagram for good. Whether you’re tired of all the ads or creating posts just
isn’t as much fun as it used to be, there are many reasons you might want to get rid of your Insta. There are two options if you’re looking to get the social network out of your life: one permanent and one temporary. We’ll show you how to do both, as well as how to download your Instagram data so that you don’t lose access to any photos or
videos that you’ve posted over the years. You can’t. In order to delete or deactivate your Instagram account, you’ll have to visit the account deletion page with a web browser. There are different but equally valid reasons to get rid of your Instagram account. If you’re concerned with digital privacy, then it’s a bad idea to allow the app to hand over your images, location data and communications to its parent company, Meta (formerly
Facebook after a rebrand). Another reason is the potential for detrimental effects on your mental health from social media usage. You might want to download your Instagram data before you permanently delete your account. Once you
finish, all your posts, stories and chats will be permanently removed, with no way to undo the process. Doing so is relatively simple. Open up the Instagram app on your phone, press the three lines menu icon in the top right and tap “settings.” From there, select “security,” then “download data.” Verify that the displayed email is the correct one and press “request download.” You
will receive a copy of your data within 48 hours. The email will contain all the photos you’ve posted, but not your messages. Although you can request your data through the mobile app, you’ll need to turn to the Instagram website through a web browser — either on a computer or a mobile device — to delete your account. Open a
web browser and go to the Instagram deletion page. Enter your credentials and click “log in.” You’ll now see a dropdown menu. Here you can select one of eight options for why you want to delete your account. Select any of them. Your Instagram account will now be invisible to other users, including your followers. If you change your mind about deleting your account, you have 30 days to log back in with your username and password to undo the deletion. How to Temporarily Disable Your Instagram AccountIf permanently deleting your account sounds a bit too final for you, you can also deactivate your Instagram account temporarily, which gives you the option to reactivate it at a later date. As with account deletion, you’ll have to do this on your computer or via a mobile browser.
With that, your Instagram account is disabled. That means that it won’t be searchable for other users, and you won’t be able to log back in without reactivating it. Final Thoughts: Leaving InstagramAll in all, deleting or disabling your Instagram account is a simple enough process. Unfortunately there’s no way to do so in the iPhone or Android app, but having to use a browser only makes the deletion process slightly more complicated. If you’re in a restrictive country, be sure to use one of the best VPNs for Instagram. We also have a guide on how to delete Facebook, or you can change your Facebook privacy settings instead. What did you think of our guide to deleting your Instagram account? Did the step-by-step guide make the process clear, or are you still struggling? Finally, what made you want to delete or deactivate Instagram? Let us know in the comments below, and as always, thank you for reading. How do I delete my Instagram account 2022?Instagram.com from a mobile browser:. Go to the Delete Your Account page. If you're not logged into Instagram on the web, you'll be asked to log in first.. Select an option from the dropdown menu below Why do you want to delete [account name]? and re-enter your password. ... . Tap Delete [username].. |