Unfriending Yourself: How to Delete Your Social-Media Accounts
Maybe you’re tired of feeling compelled to constantly check your news feeds. Or maybe you signed up for accounts that you never ended up using. Or maybe your name is Donald Trump and you’re having second thoughts about picking fights with Mexican drug lords via Twitter.
Whatever the reason, there are times when you might want to kill one or more of your social media accounts. But it turns out that it isn’t always obvious how to do so. (After all, these services definitely don’t want you to go.)
That’s why we’ve compiled this quick-and-easy guide to unplugging from the most popular social networks: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Pinterest.
Ta-ta, Twitter
1. Go to Twitter.com, click on your profile image in the top right corner of the screen and select Settings. (Note: you can only do this from the desktop version of the site, not in the mobile apps.)
2. Scroll to the bottom and click Deactivate My Account.
4. You’ll then be taken to a second page asking if you really want to delete your Twitter account. To confirm that you do, click Deactivate <account name>, the enter your password in the dialogue box on the next page and click Deactivate account.
Your profile won’t be deleted immediately, though. If you have a normal Twitter account, you’ll have 30 days to sign in again and reactivate your profile. If you’re a verified user, you have a full year. Once that time is up, though, your profile will be gone forever.
Farewell, Facebook
1. Log into your Facebook account then navigate to www.facebook.com/help/delete_account and click Delete My Account at the bottom of the screen.
2. Enter your password in the dialogue box on the next page and follow the instructions explaining which images to click.
And you’re done. It can take up to 90 days for your Facebook to completely wipe your information store on its backup servers, but once it’s gone, it’s gone for good.
It’s been great, Instagram
1. First make sure you’re logged into your Instagram account then visit https://instagram.com/accounts/remove/request/permanent/.
2. Select the reason you want to do delete your account from the drop-down box, then type your password into the available dialogue box, and click Permanently Delete My Account.
And with that you’ll never have to see pictures of your friend’s chili con carne again.
Peace out, Pinterest
1.Go to Pinterest.com and click on your profile image in the top right corner of the screen, and select Account settings.
2.On the subsequent page, scroll down to the Account section, select Deactivate Account, choose the reason you’re leaving from the available list and click Permanently close my account.
You’ll then be asked if you really want to leave, and you’ll be told that Pinterest will send you a confirmation email to delete your account. Once you confirm your email, check your inbox for the confirmation. When it arrives, open the message and confirm that you want to close the account.
Your Pinterest account will be completely deleted in 14 days.
Email Daniel at dhowley@yahoo-inc.com; follow him on Twitter at @DanielHowley or on Google+.