Made the decision to disconnect your personal or business Instagram account? shouldn’t be a concern to anyone and also yes, you can delete your Instagram account for good – permanently. In this article, we will share the steps for deleting your Instagram account.
Before you start, make sure all your Instagram account is saved and backed up. Instagram allows you to back up everything related to your account including photos, likes, comments, contacts, searches, settings and more.
Backup your Instagram Account
To back up your Instagram account before deleting it:
- open the Instagram app and click the hamburger icon (three lines) from the top right.
- Select Your activity.
- Scroll to the bottom and select Download your information.
- A new screen will ask for an email to request a download.
You will receive an email within 14 days with a link to collect the data. To back up your Instagram account from a web browser:
- Edit your profile and select Privacy and Security.
- Scroll to Data Download
- Select Request Download for the email confirmation screen.
Temporarily Deactivate your Instagram Account
Not too sure whether to delete your Instagram account or now. You can always go offline or deactivate your account. This will keep your data safe and just hide your account altogether. To deactivate your Instagram account temporarily, navigate to Instagram from a web browser.
- Open your profile and click Edit Profile.
- From the edit screen, scroll down and a link will be visible at the bottom ‘Temporarily deactivate my account.
- On the next screen, you will be asked to confirm the password to deactivate the account temporarily. Done.
This process allows you to hide your account instead of deleting it.
Delete Your Instagram Account Forever
There is no direct option visible from the account settings to delete your Instagram account. Though you can navigate to the Delete your account page (the page has the old Instagram look and feel but is a valid page). After selecting the reason for Why do want to delete the account? – you will be prompted to re-enter your account password. This screen will also present the actual account removal date.
There is a grace period of 30 days in which the account is hidden temporarily deactivated first. After 30 days the account will be permanently deleted. If you log in to the account within those 30 days – it will be reactivated again. You can access this Instagram account removal page (https://www.instagram.com/accounts/remove/request/permanent/) from desktop and mobile browsers.
Again, keep in mind – you can activate an account back at any time only if you temporarily deactivate it. If you delete your Instagram account following the steps listed above – there is likely no recovery after 30 days. You might be able to recover it by reaching out to Instagram support. Check out the Instagram Help center to find more information about such cases.
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