How to Permanently Delete Your Facebook Account in the iPhone App
Once you’ve disconnected your apps and downloaded any data you want to save, you can then permanently delete your Facebook account using the Facebook app for iPhone. (Scroll down for more information about this.)
How to Permanently Delete Your Facebook Account Using Safari on an iPhone
You don’t have to use the Facebook app on your iPhone to delete your Facebook account. You can also do it from Safari.
What to Do Before You Delete Your Facebook Account
If you are intent on deleting your Facebook account, there are a couple of things you might want to do before you pull the plug once and for all. Specifically, you might want to save a copy of your personal data, which includes posts and photos. Perhaps more importantly, you should disconnect any other apps, websites, and services that use your Facebook credentials to log in. Making a copy of your personal data is easy; you’ll see the option to do this as a part of deleting your account. You can disconnect Facebook from other sites and services using the Facebook mobile app or using Facebook in the Safari browser.
Disconnect Your Apps Using the Facebook App
Before you delete your Facebook account on an iPhone, make sure that any apps you’ve used Facebook to log in to have their usernames and passwords reset.
Disconnect Your Apps Using the Safari Browser on the iPhone
If you’ve already deleted the Facebook app from your iPhone, you can still disconnect any Facebook-connected apps using the Safari web browser.
The Difference Between Deleting and Deactivating Facebook
While it’s not difficult to delete your Facebook account, it’s not your only choice. Facebook gives you the option of deleting or deactivating your account. Here’s the difference:
Deactivating Facebook: If you want to take a break from Facebook, you can deactivate your Facebook account. All your posts and photos go offline and aren’t available to other people (though messages remain visible). If you reactivate your account, all this information reappears. Deleting Facebook: More than simply deleting the app from your phone (which has no effect on your Facebook account, and you can still use Facebook on your computer, in a browser, and elsewhere), deleting your account permanently and irrevocably erases everything about your account, including posts, photos, and messages. Because this is permanent, Facebook waits 30 days in case you change your mind, but after that, you’ll need to create a new account if you want to return to Facebook.
