How to Deactivate Your Facebook Account (Temporarily)

To deactivate your Facebook account, go to Settings & privacy → Settings → Accounts Center → Personal details → Account ownership and control → Deactivation or deletion, pick your profile, choose Deactivate account, and confirm with your password. Your profile disappears immediately, and you can bring it back anytime just by logging in. Tested on the Facebook app and facebook.com in July 2026.

Deactivate = hidden but recoverable. Delete = gone for good after a 30-day grace period. If you actually want your account erased, follow our guide to permanently deleting your Facebook account instead.

Deactivate on the phone app

1. Tap Menu (three lines), then Settings & privacy → Settings.
2. Tap Accounts Center at the top, then Personal details.
3. Tap Account ownership and control, then Deactivation or deletion.
4. Choose the profile you want to deactivate.
5. Select Deactivate account, tap Continue, enter your password, and confirm.

Deactivate on a computer

1. Log in at facebook.com and click your profile picture (top right), then Settings & privacy → Settings.
2. Click Accounts Center in the left column, then Personal details.
3. Click Account ownership and control → Deactivation or deletion.
4. Pick your profile, select Deactivate account, click Continue, and confirm with your password.

Messenger keeps working (unless you turn it off too)

Deactivating Facebook does not deactivate Messenger. You can keep chatting, and your friends can still message you. If you want Messenger off as well, open Messenger and deactivate it separately after your Facebook profile is deactivated — the option lives in Messenger’s own settings under Account ownership and control.

Coming back: how to reactivate

Just log back in to facebook.com or the app with your usual email and password (or use your account to log in to another app). Your profile, friends, photos and settings come back exactly as you left them. There’s no waiting period and no time limit — an account can stay deactivated for years.

If you can’t find the deactivate option

• Search the settings. Open Settings & privacy → Settings and type “deactivation” in the search bar at the top — Facebook moves this item around, and search jumps straight to it.
• Update the app. Old versions still show the retired menu layout without Accounts Center.
• Page manager? If you’re the only admin of a Facebook Page, Facebook may ask you to add another admin or delete the Page before deactivating.
• Wrong password error? Reset it first with Forgot password? — you need a working password to deactivate.

FAQ

What happens when I deactivate my Facebook account? No one else can see your profile. Some information, such as messages you sent to friends, may still be visible. Your friends may still see your name in their friends’ list, and group admins may still see your posts and comments. You can’t use your Facebook account to log in elsewhere while deactivated.

Does Facebook automatically deactivate accounts? No. Your account stays active until you deliberately take steps to deactivate it. Facebook may remove accounts of users who have passed away, but it can’t automatically delete active users’ accounts.

What happens if I delete my Facebook account? Your account can’t be reactivated. Your profile, photos, posts and videos are deleted permanently and can’t be retrieved, Messenger is no longer available, and you can’t use Facebook Login for other apps such as Spotify or Pinterest.