Facebook has endured several scandals over the years, and they invariably concern the privacy and security of its users. This led to the #DeleteFacebook campaign, and y'all were maybe tempted to delete Facebook equally a result.

Notwithstanding, there is some other option. Rather than deleting Facebook, y'all tin can only deactivate your business relationship. But what happens when y'all conciliate your Facebook account? If you lot deactivate Facebook, can yous still use Messenger?

What Is the Difference Between Deleting and Deactivating Facebook?

quitting-facebook

There's a difference between deleting and deactivating your Facebook account. They're not interchangeable terms.

Deactivation is for people who aren't certain they want to get out Facebook forever. If you just want to accept a sabbatical from social media, deactivation is a good pick, although it's non the only one. You could merely ignore Facebook without deactivating it, merely that depends on how tempted you'll exist to return.

Deleting Facebook is more permanent. Information technology'southward a decision that yous shouldn't have lightly. If you lot delete your business relationship, you can't come back and look any of your information to withal be intact. In that location is a mode to kickoff again, but we'll return to that later on.

Can People Search for Me if I Conciliate Facebook?

People tin can withal search for you, but your contour shouldn't show up. In theory.

Your timeline will disappear, alongside your list of "likes". That should happen immediately, though you lot'll need to jump through a few hoops to go to that stage. Everything will be invisible.

Similarly, if you delete Facebook, your account volition vanish. Just total deletion won't happen for a little while because the social network gives you 30 days' leeway before the signal of no return.

If you lot log back in presently after deactivating your account, it will be automatically reactivated.

Otherwise, it takes 90 days for Facebook to remove information on a deleted business relationship from its servers. Some details will still exist, but any personal identifiers will disappear. You'll get a statistic.

Does My Contour Completely Disappear if I Deactivate Facebook?

profile name searches

Deactivation should make your profile invisible. However, some deactivated users report that, after logging back in, they have numerous pending friend requests. This indicates that their names are still searchable and the links are still active. Depending on your privacy settings, full details shouldn't be available.

How practice you make certain your deactivated Facebook contour disappears? Try a unproblematic search, either through a friend's profile or using Google. The erstwhile is a meliorate pick; otherwise, it could take a lot of time scouring results featuring others with the same name as you. This should tell you lot if others tin can still find yous, even after deactivating your account.

If y'all withal exist on Facebook, try logging dorsum in then trying to deactivate again. If this even so doesn't work, you tin can complain to Facebook or accept the next step: deletion. Before y'all do that, read on to find out what you demand to do before deleting Facebook entirely.

If deactivation has worked, your posts on your own timeline won't be publicly visible, and your friends shouldn't be able to see them either. Your whole contour will accept gone. Merely that doesn't mean comments y'all've made to others will disappear besides.

Facebook is obsessed with memories. It likes to make you nostalgic, and remind you lot of just how long you've used social media. It'southward to build brand loyalty.

That'southward why your comments won't vanish. Your name will announced equally plain text since Facebook has removed the link to your account. Facebook volition also replace your profile prototype with a default icon.

And of form, if you lot choose to reactivate your Facebook business relationship, all of those posts will revert to normal.

What happens if you delete Facebook permanently? Facebook will erase your information inside three months, only there are no guarantees that it will clear every last bit of flotsam and jetsam—comments, reactions, and posts on others' timelines.

How to Tell if Someone Blocked You on Facebook or Deactivated Their Business relationship

What does a deactivated Facebook business relationship look like? You won't exist able to check their contour because links revert to plain text. Posts they've made on your timeline will still exist but you lot will not be able to click on their name.

If you lot're concerned that someone has been unusually tranquility on Facebook, there are three options to consider. The start is that they're just busy. Endeavour messaging them to enquire if they're okay.

Await through your list of friends. If they're still listed, they're probably just preoccupied. If they're not, the second possibility is that they've blocked you. But before y'all investigate that, question whether they've deleted their business relationship completely.

Facebook advises you deactivate your account if you carry on using Messenger

And then how exercise you know if someone has blocked you on Facebook or deactivated their account?

Become to a mutual friend's profile and cheque whether it shows the person in question. If their name is searchable, the contour still exists. Sadly, though, that probably means they blocked you lot.

Bank check on Messenger; in that location could be a technical result. Y'all tin can't send a message to someone who has blocked you, and their profile picture will be replaced on any comments they've previously posted on your timeline.

Can I Still Apply Messenger Without Facebook?

Y'all might worry that by deactivating Facebook, you won't be able to employ the separate (but notwithstanding connected) Messenger app. They're both owned by the same company and mine the aforementioned contact listing. It seems like Messenger cannot be without its parent, and that used to be the instance.

But you can still use Messenger even if you don't accept a Facebook account.

When you conciliate your account, Facebook will ask if you want to deactivate Messenger too. Say no, and the app will retain your information. If you'd prefer to get without the instant messaging service, yous tin can deactivate Messenger separately.

In some cases, you'll need to reinstall Messenger after deactivation. If you delete Facebook, you'll certainly have to sign into the app again, admitting using a slightly different method. To practise this, y'all simply click Not On Facebook?, and add your name and telephone number. Permit it access to your address book so y'all tin can go on in bear upon with friends.

Can People Come across My Messages if I Deactivate Facebook?

Yes, you can all the same apply Messenger, and then it follows that your letters will appear afterwards deactivating your account. In fact, when you press "Ship," as long as you lot have net access, the message will go straight to the recipient'southward inbox.

However, if you delete Facebook, your previous messages will read "Facebook User". The recipient won't be able to respond. Incidentally, this is the aforementioned thing that happens if you block someone.

Tin You Reactivate a Facebook Account?

If y'all've deactivated your Facebook account, all you demand to practice is log dorsum in. Yous can change your countersign if y'all've forgotten it. Your contour still exists, as does your personal data. Previous messages and comments typically re-appear too.

Actually, Facebook makes it very easy to reactivate. That's specially truthful if you lot've given the social network your phone number. Some users have reported getting texts from Facebook, tempting them back. Clicking on the accompanying link—even accidentally—will reactivate your profile. (Of grade, it's dangerous to click on SMS links, so be careful!)

Facebook general account settings let you download all personal information

Tin you reactivate a deleted Facebook account? You can, but it'southward more than difficult. You lot'll need to have taken steps to prepare for your reactivation before deletion.

The social network lets you download a re-create of all the information Facebook has stored virtually you. That means y'all can become your business relationship back upward and running, although the procedure is a bit trickier than if you've merely deactivated it.

What Happens to Tagged Photos Afterward Deactivating Facebook?

Considering Facebook has saved your information for your potential return, tags in pictures will still exist. Even so, those tags will catechumen to plainly text. No one can link those images to a profile (to reiterate, your profile isn't visible to anyone). This is also true of any other posts you lot're tagged in.

If you reactivate your business relationship, the tags will reappear as if nix's happened.

Much the aforementioned happens subsequently deletion; tags volition revert to obviously text. If you open a new business relationship, those original tags won't link automatically with your name over again. Just call back of the number of people with the same name as you.

Let's say you accept deleted your profile, then regretted it, and decided to render. You'll need to ask your contacts to remove previous tags and update them to your new profile.

Worried virtually an embarrassing photograph? Don't want people identifying you even afterwards deactivation or deletion? Don't forget you can manually remove tags anyway—merely do so before taking farther steps with your business relationship.

Should You Deactivate or Delete Facebook?

If you're reading this because you're not sure whether to delete or deactivate Facebook, choose the latter and stick with Facebook. Why? Considering you're conspicuously unsure almost the conclusion. It'due south better to start with the non-nuclear option which will allow y'all to return one 24-hour interval.

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