How to Delete Your Instagram Account Permanently – vpnMentor
Instagram, like its parent corporation Facebook, is no stranger to the odd privacy scandal.
In late 2018, it was reported that there was a security flaw in the Instagram feature ‘Download Your Data’, which leaked users passwords in plain text.
Ironic, as the feature was originally introduced to improve security and protect user’s privacy and data. Furthermore, it was implemented to put their users’ minds at rest after the Cambridge Analytica leak.
After the password leak emerged, Instagram was quick to announce that only a small number of users were at risk and the issue had been swiftly resolved. However, there are a number of other ways Instagram poses a threat to your privacy.
For example, Instagram’s default setting will automatically track your location, unless you turn it off manually.
This data is used to show you ads relative to the location where you spend a lot of your time. In addition, Instagram shares your in-app activity – such as likes, comments, your interaction with stories, etc. – with other users.
Then there was the update to their DM service that came in early 2018. It wasn’t just the ‘seen’ notification or the typing bubble that upset users, but the status activity notification.
Instagram was now informing users when others were active, and even the last time they were active. This feature is a default setting, but it can be disabled in the ‘Privacy and Security’ section of the account settings.
If you want to share a little bit less online, you might be considering deleting or deactivating your social media accounts. This article will show you how to permanently delete your Instagram account.
BE AWARE: Every click, every share, and every download can be and is tracked, stored, and sold by app creators, internet service providers, and telecom companies. Only a VPN like ExpressVPN can protect you and prevent these third parties from collecting and selling your sensitive data.
Deactivating vs Deleting: What You Need to Know
You can both deactivate and permanently delete your Instagram account, depending on your preference.
Deactivating your account is temporary, but whilst it is deactivated, your account, along with your profile, followers, photos, like, and comments will be hidden from other users. To restore all of this information and start using Instagram normally again, simply log back into your account.
Deleting your Instagram account cannot be undone – a deleted account cannot be restored. When you delete your Instagram account, all of your data, including photos, followers, likes, etc. will be deleted for good. In the future, if you choose to sign up to Instagram again, you won’t be able to use the same username again, nor will anyone else.
Deactivating an Instagram Account
You can’t deactivate Instagram through the app, it has to be done on a web browser on the Instagram website. If you want to take a break from Instagram, you can deactivate your account by taking these steps:
On the Instagram website, log in to your account and click on the person icon to go to your profile page.
Select ‘Edit Profile’, scroll to the bottom of the page, and click ‘Temporarily disable my account’.
You will be asked ‘Why are you disabling your account? ’, select a reason from the drop-down menu.
Re-enter your password and select ‘Temporarily disable account’.
Your account is now deactivated and it will be hidden from other users until you log in to it once again. NOTE: As per Instagram’s usage policy, you can only deactivate your Instagram account once a week.
Downloading Your Instagram Data
Once you’ve deleted your Instagram account, all of your data is gone for good – it cannot be retrieved.
Therefore, you may want to download your Instagram data before you delete your account, so you still have all the photos, videos, etc. that you have posted over time. To download a copy of your Instagram data:
Go to your Instagram profile and select ‘Settings‘ (gear icon).
Click on the ‘Privacy & Security’ tab and click ‘Request Download’.
Enter the email address where you would like to receive a link to your Instagram data, followed by your password.
Within 48 hours you should receive an email with a link to your data, titled ‘Your Instagram Data’. Click ‘Download Data’.
Step-By-Step Guide: How to Delete Your Instagram Account
Like with deactivating, an Instagram account can only be deleted through a web browser. To permanently delete your Instagram account, follow these simple steps:
Log in to your account on the Instagram website.
Go to Instagram’s ‘Delete Your Account’ page. Select from the drop-down menu your reason for leaving.
Enter your password and click ‘Permanently delete my account’.
Your Instagram account is now deleted.
Other Ways to Keep Your Data Private
Many of us use a Cloud Storage Service to back up our important data and/or to store files. If you use one of these storage services, choose one that automatically encrypts your files. However, as the cloud provider holds the key to your encryption, they may be able to access your data and even share it with government authorities at their request.
You can get around this problem by manually encrypting your files yourself before uploading them to the cloud. Therefore, you will be the only one holding the key to your data. Your cloud provider will have no access, as long as you don’t also upload the encryption keys to the cloud.
There are a number of free encryption programs out there that are easy to use, even if you have no prior experience of manually encrypting your data.
Choose encryption software that is compatible with your computer and mobile operating systems, and with your cloud storage provider. Your encryption program should also have end-to-end encryption, and should never store your password.
Conclusion and Further Reading
These days, it’s important to do whatever you can to stay safe on social media and avoid becoming the victim of cybercriminals.
If you are interested in learning more ways in which you can protect your privacy online, check out our detailed guide.
Or, if you also want to delete your profile on Facebook, take a look at our step-by-step instructions.
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How to Delete a Linked Instagram Account – Followchain
Did you create a second Instagram account in the past?
If you did, the account will be linked with Instagram.
You can switch between your first and your second Instagram account by navigating to your profile and tapping on your username at the top navigation bar.
Then, select the account that you want to switch to.
If you want to unlink your second Instagram account, you can do so by logging out of it.
However, when you log out of it, the account will not be deleted.
Instead, it’ll just be unlinked with Instagram and you’ll have to log in to it again if you want to re-link it.
But what if you want to delete your linked Instagram account permanently?
In this guide, you’ll learn how to delete a linked Instagram account.
How to delete a linked Instagram account
To delete a linked Instagram account, you must first navigate to the “Delete Your Account” page in Instagram’s Help Center.
Then, tap on “Delete Your Account”, log in to the Instagram account that you want to delete, and complete the form to delete your account.
You won’t be able to delete your Instagram account in the app itself.
This is because Instagram does not have a feature for it yet.
Hence, if you want to delete your linked Instagram account, you have to navigate to the Instagram Help Center instead.
On the Instagram Help Center, you need to find the form that contains the link to delete your Instagram account.
You can do this on a mobile device or on a desktop.
Here’s how you can delete a linked Instagram account in 3 steps:
Navigate to the “Delete Your Account” pageTap on “Delete Your Account”Complete the “Delete your account” form
1. Navigate to the “Delete Your Account” page
Firstly, you need to visit the “Delete Your Account” page on the Instagram Help Center.
Firstly, you need to navigate to the “Delete Your Account” page on the Instagram Help Center.
You can only visit the Instagram Help Center on a browser.
Open a browser (e. g. Chrome, Safari) on your device.
Then, search for “delete Instagram account” on Google.
Once you’ve searched for “delete Instagram account” on Google, tap on the first search result.
Alternatively, you can visit the “Delete Your Account” page by using this link:.
Next, tap on the “How do I delete my Instagram account” heading.
Once you’re on the “Delete Your Account” page on the Instagram Help Center, you’ll see some frequently asked questions.
There are three frequently asked questions including “How do I temporarily disable my Instagram account”, “How do I delete my Instagram account”, and “How do I access or review my data on Instagram? ”.
If you want to know how to temporarily disable your Instagram account, tap on the first question.
On the other hand, if you want to get a copy of your data on Instagram, tap on the third question.
Since you’re looking to delete your linked Instagram account, tap on “How do I delete my Instagram account”.
Proceed to the next step to learn how to navigate to the form to delete your linked Instagram account.
2. Tap on “Delete Your Account”
Tap on the “Delete Your Account” link on the first step.
After you’ve tapped on the “How do I delete my Instagram account” header, you’ll see a long answer on how you can delete your Instagram account permanently.
The answer informs you that when you delete your Instagram account, your followers, likes, comments, videos, photos, and profile will be permanently deleted.
Scroll down until you reach the “To request the permanent deletion of your account” heading.
Under the “To request the permanent deletion of your account” heading, you’ll see a step-by-step guide on how you can delete your Instagram account.
On the first step, you’ll see the “Delete Your Account” link.
Tap on “Delete Your Account” to proceed to the “Delete your account” page.
Log in to the Instagram account that you want to delete.
After you’ve tapped on “Delete Your Account”, you’ll land on the login screen of Instagram.
On the login screen, log in to the Instagram account that you want to delete.
Make sure to key in the username and password of the Instagram account that you want to delete.
Otherwise, you may end up deleting the wrong Instagram account.
Then, tap on “Log in” to log in to your Instagram account.
Proceed to the final step to learn how to delete your linked Instagram account using a form.
3. Complete the “Delete your account” form
Complete the “Delete your account” form to delete your linked Instagram account permanently.
After you’ve logged into your linked Instagram account, you’ll land on the “Delete your account” page.
On the “Delete your account” page, you’ll see a dropdown box and a password field.
Firstly, tap on the “Why do you want to delete x? ” dropdown box (x being your account’s username).
After you’ve tapped on the dropdown box, select why you want to delete your account.
Then, re-enter your password on the password field.
Lastly, tap on “Delete x” (x being your account’s username) to delete your linked Instagram account permanently.
Make sure that the username shown is the Instagram account that you want to delete.
If it isn’t, log out of your Instagram account first and log in to the account that you want to delete.
Conclusion
Deleting an Instagram account should be your last resort.
This is because your followers, likes, comments, videos, photos, and profile will be permanently deleted.
If you’re persistent in deleting your Instagram account, make sure to request a copy of your data first.
That way, you’ll be able to see your photos, comments, profile information, and more in one place.
However, if you don’t have any photos, you can delete your Instagram account without downloading your data.
Further Reading
How to Make Your Own Hashtag on Instagram
How to See Your Instagram Password (While Logged in)
3 Ways to Fix “Sorry there was a problem with your request” on Instagram
Delete or Deactivate – What to do with your old accounts (updated for 2020)
When you stop using a social networking profile or website, it is a good idea to deactivate or delete your account. This will mean that your content is no longer visible online and should not be searchable online. It will also remove the risk of these accounts being used by others or hacked without you knowing.
This blog gives site specific guidance about how to deactivate or delete your accounts, and what these options mean.
Facebook
On Facebook you have the options of either deactivating and deleting your account.
If you deactivate your account:
You can reactivate it whenever you want. This will mean you can access your photos, videos, friends and groups again.
People can’t see your timeline or find your account in a search unless you reactivate the account.
Some things may remain visible (for example: private messages you have sent).
You can reactivate your account at any time by logging back into Facebook or by using your Facebook account to log in somewhere else. You’ll need to have access to the email or mobile number you use to log in to complete the reactivation.
To deactivate your account:
Click in the top right of Facebook.
Select Settings & Privacy > Settings.
Click Your Facebook Information in the left column.
Click Deactivation and Deletion.
5. Choose Deactivate Account, then Continue to Account Deactivation and follow the instructions to confirm.
When Your Facebook account is deactivated, but you still have Messenger:
You can still chat with friends on Messenger.
Your Facebook profile picture will still be visible in your conversations on Messenger.
Other people can search for you to send you a message within Messanger.
If you delete your account:
You won’t be able to reactivate your account.
You will have 30 days to cancel your account deletion, after this you won’t be able to access your account or retrieve any information from it.
Your profile, photos, videos and everything else you’ve added will be permanently deleted.
You’ll no longer be able to use Facebook Messenger.
You won’t be able to use your Facebook login for other apps you may have signed up for with your Facebook account, like Spotify or Instagram. You may need to contact the apps and websites to recover those accounts.
Some information, like messages you sent to friends, may still be visible to them after you delete your account. Copies of messages you have sent are stored in your friends’ inboxes.
To delete your account:
Choose Permanently Delete Account then click Continue to Account Deletion.
Click Delete Account, enter your password and then click Continue.
Instagram
You can either temporarily disable your account or permanently delete it.
If you temporarily disable your account:
Your profile, photos, comments and likes will be hidden.
You can reactivate your account by logging back in.
To temporarily disable your account:
Log into from a mobile browser or computer. You can’t temporarily disable your account from within the Instagram app.
Tap or click your profile picture in the top right and select Profile, then select Edit Profile.
Scroll down, then tap or click Temporarily disable my account in the bottom right.
Select an option from the drop-down menu next to Why are you disabling your account? and re-enter your password. The option to disable your account will only appear after you’ve selected a reason from the menu and entered your password.
Tap or click Temporarily Disable Account.
Your account, profile, photos, videos, comments, likes and followers will be permanently removed.
You can’t sign up again with the same username or add that username to another account.
Deleted accounts cannot be reactivated.
Go to the Delete Your Account page from a mobile browser or computer. If you’re not logged into Instagram on the web, you’ll be asked to log in first (you cannot delete your account from within the Instagram app).
Select an option from the drop-down menu next to Why are you deleting your account? and re-enter your password. The option to permanently delete your account will only appear after you’ve selected a reason from the menu.
Click or tap Permanently delete my account.
Twitter
On Twitter, you deactivate your account and it deletes permanently after 30 days. During this time your account is deactivated. Deactivation is not available on mobile devices and must be done by accessing on the web.
Before you deactivate your account, you should know:
You may reactivate your account at any time during these 30 days by logging in to it. If you don’t log in/reactivate for 30 days, your account will be permanently deleted.
You do not need to deactivate your account to change your username or email address; you can change these at any time in your account settings.
If you want to use the same username or email address to make a new account, you need to do so before deactivating. For how to do this, follow the steps on: How to make your username or email address available for re-use before deactivating your account.
To deactivate:
Sign in to on the web.
Click on Settings and privacy from the drop-down menu under your profile icon.
From the Account tab, click on Deactivate your account at the bottom of the page.
Read the account deactivation information, then click Deactivate @username.
Enter your password when prompted and confirm that you want to proceed by clicking the Deactivate account button.
Snapchat
You are only able to permanently delete your account on Snapchat. It takes 30 days for the deletion to take place, in which time your account will be deactivated.
During these 30 days, your friends will not be able to contact or interact with you on Snapchat. After 30 days, your account will be permanently deleted, including your friends, Snaps, Chats and Stories. Your username will no longer be available.
Visit this page from any browser. It won’t work from the Snapchat App.
Fill in the username and password for the account you want to delete.
Select Login and enter the same information again.
Select Delete my Account at the bottom.
If you change your mind in the 30 days after deleting your account you can log back into Snapchat like you normally would using your username and password. This will reactivate your account and stop your account being deleted.
TikTok
You are only able to permanently delete your account on TikTok. This is permanent and irreversible. A deleted account can’t be recovered at any point.
You can’t use the account to log in to TikTok.
You’ll lose access to the videos you’ve posted.
You’ll lose access to purchased items and won’t be able to receive a refund.
Shared information, such as chat messages, may still be visible to others.
Go to your Profile tab.
Tap the Settings icon in the top right corner.
Tap Manage my Account > Delete Account.
Follow the steps in the app to delete your account.
Further resources
Our Social Media Checklists provide all the information you need to know about deactivating or deleting accounts and you can download copies here.
Frequently Asked Questions about how do you delete instagram account 2021
How do I delete my Instagram account on my phone 2021?
To delete a linked Instagram account, you must first navigate to the “Delete Your Account” page in Instagram’s Help Center. Then, tap on “Delete Your Account”, log in to the Instagram account that you want to delete, and complete the form to delete your account.Mar 30, 2021
How do I permanently delete my Instagram account?
You will have 30 days to cancel your account deletion, after this you won’t be able to access your account or retrieve any information from it. Your profile, photos, videos and everything else you’ve added will be permanently deleted.Sep 23, 2020
