Even though the number of daily Instagram users grows on a global scale, there are still people who are fed up with Instagram. “Enough is enough!”, they might say as they start looking for an option to deactivate their Instagram accounts for good.
If you are one of those people, you are in the right spot. Today, we’ll explain in detail how to deactivate (delete) your Instagram account forever. This is a point of no return, so follow our instructions closely, and soon we’ll be over it.
How do I delete my Instagram account?
Firstly, make sure that you really want to remove your account for good. Keep in mind that account deletion is, in comparison to temporary disabling, something irreversible. Once you delete your Instagram account, there’s no way to get it back. It’s gone forever.
If you are determined to follow through and say one final goodbye to Instagram (or just that one particular account), the deletion is not that complicated.
Although, you won’t be able to do it from the Android app. There’s, believe it or not, a specific page made just for account deletion and you need to use your browser in order to access it.
Now, that calls for using a PC and whatnot, but you can rest assured that it’s possible to do it solely on your smartphone. You just need to access Instagram from a mobile browser while the Desktop mode is enabled. Just open Chrome on your Android, tap on the hamburger menu and check the “Desktop site” box.
On the other hand, if you already have a PC at your disposal, it’s much easier to follow through with the deletion that way. Additionally, we made sure to explain how to download all your data first before deleting your account.
Follow these instructions to download all your Instagram data (photos, Stories, videos) so you can store them locally before your account is gone:
- Open any web browser on your PC and navigate to instagram.com.
- Log in with your credentials.
- Now, open your Profile and click on the cog-like icon.
- Select Privacy and Security.
- Scroll down and click Request Download under the Data Download section.
- On the next window, enter your email address and click Next.
- Enter your Instagram password when prompted and you are good to go.
You’ll get a link to your Instagram data in the email you associated with Instagram. Just open the link from your email and download all your data. Keep in mind that you might need to wait for 48 hours or so until the file with all your data is created.
We suggest getting your data first and then banishing your Instagram account from existence.
Finally, here’s how to permanently deactivate your Instagram account:
- Again, open a browser on your PC and navigate to the Instagram Deletion page.
- Log in with your credentials if needed.
- Select the reason why you are deleting your account from the drop-down menu (whatever you choose, won’t change much).
- Re-enter your password in the field and click on the Permanently Delete My Account button.
- That’s it, your Instagram account is no more.
Consider temporarily disabling your Instagram account instead
Now, if you are not 100% sure about deleting your Instagram and need just a good old social media detox for an extended period of time, you can always disable it. With that approach, you can get back into the scrolling frenzy whenever you want.
This approach puts you at a crossroads since you can decide to get back if you feel like it or find out that life without Instagram is better and nuke your account.
With that said, here’s how to disable the Instagram account with a rather ease:
- Open your Instagram account on the web.
- Open your Profile.
- Click Edit Profile.
- At the bottom, click on Temporarily Disable My Account.
- Select the reason for disabling your account from the drop-down menu and enter your password.
- Finally, click on the Temporarily Disable Account.
You can reactivate your account by simply logging in on any of the devices you use.
That’s a wrap. Thank you for reading and we hope you learned something today. In case you have any questions or suggestions, we encourage you to share them with us in the comments section below.
