Deactivate vs Delete — Key Difference

  • Deactivating temporarily hides your profile, timeline and photos. You disappear from searches. Friends cannot see your profile. Your data is kept safe by Facebook. Reactivates instantly when you log back in.
  • Deleting is permanent — after a 30-day grace period, everything is gone forever.

Deactivation is the right choice if you want a break from Facebook but are not ready to leave permanently.

How to Deactivate Facebook

  1. 1

    Click your profile picture → Settings and Privacy → Settings

    On desktop: click the down arrow or your photo in the top right. On mobile: tap the three lines (menu) → Settings and Privacy → Settings.

  2. 2

    Your Facebook Information → Deactivation and Deletion

    Find Your Facebook Information in the left sidebar. Click Deactivation and Deletion.

  3. 3

    Select Deactivate Account → Continue

    Select the Deactivate Account radio button and click Continue to Account Deactivation.

  4. 4

    Select a reason and confirm

    Facebook asks why you are deactivating (optional). Scroll down and click Deactivate Now. Enter your password to confirm.

Messenger still works while deactivatedIf you want to keep using Facebook Messenger even while your profile is deactivated, you can. Messenger remains active — friends can still message you. If you want to deactivate Messenger too, you need to do that separately in the Messenger app settings.

How to Reactivate Facebook

Simply log back in to Facebook with your email and password. Your account reactivates instantly — your profile, photos, friends and posts all return exactly as they were. There is no waiting period or reactivation process.

Frequently Asked Questions

They will not receive a notification. However, if they visit your profile or try to tag you, they will find you have disappeared. Your past comments and tags on others' posts may disappear or show a greyed-out name, which can signal deactivation to observant friends.
Yes — the path is the same. In the Facebook app: tap the three lines (menu) → Settings and Privacy → Settings → Your Facebook Information → Deactivation and Deletion → Deactivate Account.