If you have had enough of Facebook’s privacy concerns, become sick and tired of reading about your friends’ latest Farmville events, or just find that Facebook isn’t your thing, you can deactivate your account in case you change your mind later and want to try it again, or you can delete your account and be done with it once and for all.
Deactivating your account is somewhat of a deceptive approach. What it really means is that you aren’t using your account. Friends can still invite you to events, tag photos that include you, ask you to join groups, etc. The only difference is that you are totally oblivious to this if you opt out of receiving emails from Facebook. If you are unsure whether you want to permanently say goodbye to Facebook, this may be a good starting point for you, even if it is only a superficial fix.
To deactivate your account:
1. Go to Facebook and login to your account.
2. Go to the upper right corner and click on Account. Select Account Settings from the dropdown.
3. Go to the bottom of the Settings tab and and click deactivate next to Deactivate Account.
4. Beneath all the friends that will miss you when you’re gone, you’ll find a form that you need to say why your are deactivating. Select an appropriate radio button. Make sure to check the Opt out of receiving future emails from Facebook checkbox to keep from receiving tempting emails from Facebook about what people are doing. Click the Deactivate My Account button.
5. Input your password and click the Confirm button.
6. Input the captcha security check words and click Submit.
Your Facebook account is now deactivated. You can reactivate it at any time by logging back into Facebook with your email address and password.
If you are absolutely certain that you have had it with Facebook, then it is time to delete the account. This is accomplished one of two ways.
Method 1:
1. Go to https://ssl.facebook.com/help/contact.php?show_form=delete_account and click the Submit button for Delete My Account.
2. Input your password and the captcha security check words and click the Okay button.
Your account will be deleted in 14 days. During this time make sure to not logon to your Facebook account or do anything involving Facebook Connect, Share on Facebook or Like in Facebook as these actions will override the account deletion process.
Method 2:
Request that your account be deleted by sending an email stating such to privacy@facebook.com. You should receive a response within 3-7 days confirming that the account has been deleted.
