In modern times, people prefer virtual communication to “real-life” interaction. This is why social networks have become so popular and diverse. Nowadays, you can register on Facebook, Twitter, Vkontakte, Instagram, etc. But what if you tried one of them and didn’t like it? How do you get rid of your account with all your data on such a site? In most services, deleting your profile is not easy, as the developer is only interested in attracting customers, not losing them. In this article, we will discuss how to delete an Instagram account and whether it can be done permanently or for a short period of time. Stay with us and learn some tricks and useful tips on this topic.
3 reasons to delete an account permanently
There are three objective reasons why it’s worth getting rid of your Instagram profile:
- Personal data protection. When we fill out information on our profile, we’re essentially allowing not only friends but also complete strangers onto our territory. And what guarantees do we have that they won’t use our stories for their own personal purposes?
- Effective time planning. Have you noticed how many hours can be sucked into the virtual world, while offline tasks are put aside? How many tasks and goals can be accomplished instead of reading endless posts?
- Absence of marketing manipulations. Oh, this advertising is everywhere and constantly dictates to users what to do, what to eat, where to go, who to be friends with. Maybe it’s time to start making our own choices?
Useful to know. It’s not necessary to delete your old profile. In the smartphone app, you can use multiple accounts simultaneously and switch between them at any convenient time.
Account deletion from PC
If you have firmly decided that this social network is not for you, let’s first figure out how to delete Instagram through a personal computer. There are two ways to do this:
- temporarily;
- permanently.
Let’s focus on each of them separately.
Temporary block
Temporary blocking implies restricting access to your account for all registered and unregistered users of the social network. Anyone who clicks on your feed link will see the error “Page not found”.
As the name suggests, this method only allows you to temporarily delete your Instagram account. This is quite convenient if you are unsure of your intentions and think you may come back.
So, if you have decided that this option is the most suitable for you, then:
- Go to the Instagram website.
- Log in to your profile using your username, email address, or mobile phone number, as well as your password.
- Tap on the “person” icon to switch from the feed to the main page.
- Click on the “Edit Profile” button located next to the settings icon.
- In editing mode, open the top section in the list and scroll down to the bottom of the page.
- Click on “Temporarily Disable My Account”.
- Confirm and save the changes. Done.
Note. If you forgot your login information, use the “Forgot Password?” function. Enter your email or phone number to receive a link to restore access and create a new password for authorization.
Remember, you have a limited time to restore everything. Read on for how to do this.
Complete deletion
The second option for deleting your Instagram account is permanent. This means that you will not be able to return to the platform. It is suitable for those who are sure about their decision and want to completely remove themselves from the social network they do not like.
However, as mentioned earlier, developers do not welcome every departing user. Therefore, there is no button to delete your account from the app or website. So, what should you do?
The answer is simple: only through a direct link. To do this, follow the step-by-step instructions below:
- Go to your Instagram profile.
- Click on this hyperlink.
- Read the provided information.
- Select the reason why the social network did not satisfy you. For example, “Too much advertising.”
- Enter your password and confirm the operation.
Done, all your data is now erased.
Deleting an account from a smartphone
It’s clear how to delete a page on a personal computer, but how do you do it on a mobile device? There is no mention in the settings of how to remove an account. So you’ll have to work with the built-in browser that you have on your smartphone.
The algorithm of actions is simple:
- Open the Instagram app and log in using saved data or enter your login (email/phone number) and password manually.
- Tap on the “person” icon to go to your personal profile section.
- Click on the “three lines” button at the top of the screen and go to “Settings”.
- Find and select the “Help” – “Help Center” line.
- In the browser window that opens, click on the hyperlink “Account Management”, and then on “Deletion”.
- Expand the question “How to delete?” and scroll down to the link to delete the account. There are two options – temporary or permanent blocking.
- Select the reason for your decision, confirm your password and save the changes.
Interesting. You can save data for automatic login to the app, but don’t forget that if you lose your gadget, a malicious person can take advantage of it.
It is worth noting that on “Apple” and Android, everything happens almost identically. Differences depend on the version of the operating system and the program itself.
App deletion
When all the steps are completed, there is no more need for the profile. Now it’s time to get rid of the unnecessary social media application. No third-party utilities are needed for this, everything can be done on the smartphone itself.
So, there are two ways to delete the program:
- in the mobile device settings;
- through the official market.
The first method involves the following actions:
- Unlock the screen and scroll through the menu.
- Find the “gear” icon or something similar – this is the settings.
- Scroll down the page to the “Applications” column.
- Select “All applications”.
- Find the appropriate one in the list, check the box, and confirm deletion.
The second method is just as simple:
- Unlock the gadget and find the Play market icon on the “desktop”.
- Log in to the corresponding @gmail account.
- Open the menu column by scrolling left to right on the screen.
- Click on the top line “My games” and go to the “Installed” tab.
- Find the desired application and click on it.
- Click “Uninstall”.
- Wait for a while and make sure that the system has uninstalled Instagram.
Note. Cache and other junk from memory are usually erased. If this did not happen, you can “clean up” everything manually or install various cleaner-assistants.
Oops, how do I restore it?
Suddenly at night, you hear a click in your head: “How can I live without my beloved photos? I need to get them back.” What should you do in this case? Is there a solution? Since there are no hopeless situations, let’s consider what to do for people who are overwhelmed by nostalgia.
Application
Let’s start with what we finished a couple of sections ago – the Instagram app. It needs to be downloaded and installed again on your mobile phone. This can be done through the official game store app using the following steps:
- Unlock the screen and open Google Play.
- Enter the name – Instagram – in the search bar.
- Click on the top result provided.
- Press the green “Install” button.
- Wait for the system to check the downloaded file.
Now, all that’s left is to see the section below.
Account
Next, you will need to recover your account, but there are a few nuances:
- If you chose the temporary method for deleting your account, you have 1 month to restore it.
- If you decided to use permanent blocking, unfortunately, your old profile cannot be restored. And unfortunately, you cannot register under your previous username.
If you temporarily restricted access to your page, you will need to do one simple action to restore it – log in. Everything that was before deletion will return to your feed.
That’s all the guide to “getting rid” of yourself from an annoying social network. Finally, pay attention to the main useful advice – first use a short-term block. This will allow you to calmly return to your favorite page if necessary.