If you have a Facebook account and have ever tried to delete it, sooner or later you will see that you can’t–all you can do is to deactivate it.
Sure, that makes it easier if you ever want to reactivate it again, but what if you don’t? What if you just want your account gone for good?
Off to Google I went, and shortly I had the answer: someone at the Facebook side has to delete your account, you can’t do it yourself and it’s not listed in the online help.
Here are the steps you’ll need to follow:
Step 1:
Log into your Facebook account and delete everything. Your pictures, your contacts, your personal info, your added in applications, everything. Make it look the way it did when you first got it.
Step 2:
While still logged into Facebook, click on the “Account” link in the upper right and on the page that opens click on Deactivate. Choose whatever you’d like for the reason (please don’t be rude–no one will be impressed with your wit or bravado…remember you’re trying to get them to help you).
Step 3:
Now send an email to info@facebook.com and tell them that you have already deleted everything from your account (pictures, contacts, etc.) and have also deactivated your account, but what you would really like is for them to help with deleting your account from the Facebook servers and ask if they can help. Make sure and tell them what your Facebook username is/was. Remember, be polite.
Step 4:
Wait…maybe a day, maybe two. They seem pretty responsive. You should get an email back telling you that your account has been deleted. If you don’t, you might get a generic email telling you that they can delete your account, you’ll just need to delete your profile content. Okay, maybe they didn’t read your email completely. No biggie, you’re almost there. Respond and tell them that you have done that and that the account is ready to be deleted.
That’s it–you no longer have a Facebook account.
Filed under: tech
