Instagram is one of the largest social media platforms. With over 1 billion users worldwide, the photo-sharing app has become one of the preferred ways for people to keep up with their family and friends. It is one of the best apps available to also keep up with your favorite celebrities.
However, there are times when you feel that it’s becoming hard to keep up with everyone's picture-perfect lives. Studies have shown that there are users who develop anxiety due to the constant use of social media.
Whether you’re deleting your social media presence to protect future job aspects or you want to reach less often for your phone, deleting your Instagram account could help you lead a healthier life.
Before you take any action on your social media account, remember that you cannot reverse the action once you delete your account. As we know that Instagram offers so much potential to the businesses that prefer to market themselves on this platform. To meet the purpose they only have to build a strong presence of their brand on this platform and buy 500 Instagram views UK is the most effective and trusted way of doing so.
All the followers you have, photos, and account history will be completely gone. Also, you can no longer use your username if you ever want to create a new account.
Why Delete Instagram?
There are several reasons why you would choose to delete your presence from any social network. Here are the most common reasons why people delete their accounts.
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- After continuous harassment and trolling by haters on the platform;
- When they need to start a new Instagram Marketing Strategy to replace one they have used previously;
- Getting tired of using Instagram and all that it entails, which includes updating profiles, monitoring interactions, and uploading images;
- After a brand or an institution affiliated with the account ceases to exist.
Whatever your reason is, just make sure you save your content because once you delete your account all your data will be lost.
Even then, to deactivate or delete Instagram account permanently, you need to do this from a web browser and not the app.
What Is the Difference Between Deleting and Deactivating Your Account?
Depending on your preference, you can deactivate or delete your account. Deactivating your account involves hiding your profile from other users on the app.
This means your profile, photos, followers, comments, and likes cannot be seen by other users. But you can restore your account by just logging back into your account.
Deleting your Instagram account, on the other hand, means that you cannot restore anything. Once you delete your Instagram account, you delete everything, including your photos, data, and followers.
If you decide to sign up again on Instagram, you will need to create another username. You will not be able to use your previous user name, nor will anyone else.
How Can I Deactivate an Instagram Account?
You can only deactivate your Instagram account from the Instagram website or a web browser. Most people deactivate their accounts when they need a break from the platform.
If you want to temporarily deactivate Instagram, here are the steps you need to follow:
- Go to the Instagram website and log in to your account;
- Tap the person icon to access your profile page;
- Click on "Edit Profile";
- Scroll to the bottom of the page and click on "Temporarily disable my account.";
- You will get a prompt, "Why are you disabling your account?";
- Select the reason from the drop-down menu;
- You will then get a prompt to re-enter your password and;
- Finally, select "Temporarily disable account." To deactivate your account until you decide to reactivate it.
Your account will now be deactivated and hidden for other Instagram users until you log into it once again.
According to the Instagram Usage policy, it is important to note that you can only deactivate your account once per week.
How Do I Delete My Instagram Account?
Here is a step-by-step guide on how to delete Instagram account:
Similar to deactivating, you will need to go to Instagram.com or a web browser. Here are the steps to follow to delete an Instagram account permanently:
- Log in to your Instagram account via the website;
- Go to the "Delete Your Account" pages. Then on the drop-down menu, select the reason you are leaving Instagram;
- You will get a prompt to enter your password;
- Click the button showing "Permanently delete my account." To complete the process.
You have now deleted your Instagram account permanently.
How To Download Your Data from Instagram Before Deleting It
When you delete your Instagram account, all your data will be gone, and there is no way you can retrieve it.
This is why you may want to download your Instagram data before you permanently delete your account. You will save the photos and videos you have posted over time.
Here are the steps you need to follow to download your Instagram data:
- Go to your Instagram profile and click on "Settings.";
- Select the "Privacy and Security" tab;
- Then select "Request Download.";
- Enter the email address which you would like to receive your Instagram data link on and then followed by your password.
You will receive an email with the link to your Instagram Data within 24 hours. The email will be titled "Your Instagram Data." All you will need to do is click on "Download Data" to get your videos and photos.
What Happens After You Delete Instagram?
It is important to note that your account is not deleted with immediate effect after request. Once you complete the process above, you will wait for up to thirty days for your account deletion request to be complete.
The service explains that it takes 30 days to remove all the data permanently. In some cases, it could take up to 90 days for all traces of your Instagram posts to be deleted as well.
While this might take longer than you expect, Instagram states that the content is deleted immediately from the user end. This means that your data is not visible to other users or the account holder.
What Other Ways Can You Follow to Keep Your Data Private
Most people decide to delete their Instagram account because they need their privacy. Most people use a cloud storage service to back up their stored files and important say.
If you use a cloud storage provider, ensure that you choose one that will automatically encrypt your files. Always remember that your storage provider holds the key to your encryption.
Most cloud storage providers can access your data and sometimes share it with the government at their request.
If your cloud storage provider does not offer the encryption option, you can get around the problem yourself. You can manually encrypt your files before uploading them to your cloud. This means that you will hold the encryption key to your data.
Your cloud storage service provider will not access your data as long as you do not upload the keys to your encryption.
There are several free encryption programs that you can use. They have easy guidelines that you can easily use even without prior experience in encrypting data.
Make sure you choose encryption software compatible with a mobile operating system or your computer without forgetting your cloud storage provider.
Make sure that your encryption program has end-to-end encryption and does not store your password.
Is It Better To Deactivate Or Delete Your Instagram Account?
Many reasons could make you want to delete your Instagram account permanently. It could be you have been a victim of cyberbullying or cyber-crime. In some cases, you might feel like you need a break from social media. Whatever your reason may be, it is valid.
If you are not sure you want to delete your account permanently, you can opt to pause your Instagram account. When you temporarily deactivate Instagram, your user account will remain hidden from other users.
You can easily reactivate your account by just logging in back to your account. However, always remember that you could only deactivate and reactivate your account once per week. This is according to Instagram usage policy.
It is also important to remember that deactivating and deleting options are not available on iPhone or Android apps.
Before you decide to delete Instagram completely, we recommend you save all your videos and photos that you have ever published to keep the memories. You can easily do this by downloading the Instagram data we have mentioned earlier.
It is important to remember that you can always open another Instagram account with the same email, but you can never use the previous username in your old profile.
Delete Instagram Account - Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
What does it mean to pause your Instagram account?
Pausing your Instagram account is the same as deactivating your account.
If you are not sure if you want to delete Instagram permanently, you can hide your profile and other users' related likes, posts, and comments.
You will remain hidden till you decide to enable your account. This is a great way to take a break from Instagram.
Can you delete your Instagram account permanently through the app?
Instagram does not offer the deleting option on iPhone or Android apps. Whether you want to deactivate Instagram or permanently delete Instagram accounts, you have to use a web browser for this.
You can use a web browser either through your phone or a mobile phone.
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