How to deactivate your Facebook account without deleting it

February 6, 2018

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Are you sick and tired of Facebook? Maybe it’s the fake news. Or the one-up viral videos. Or the ads. Facebooks users are noticeably tuning out.

Facebook said that it’s doing something to fix the problem. It will tweak its algorithm to prioritize your friends’ posts, you know, the posts that really matter to you. Connecting with friends is what made Facebook so popular anyway.

Are you starting to notice changes in your Facebook Newsfeed? Well, that’s the new algorithm at work. And I don’t blame them, Facebook is on the verge of “context collapse.” This means users are sharing fewer and fewer posts.

If you’re cutting back on your Facebook usage, your notifications might be stacking up! There might even be tags that are embarrassing or cringe-worthy. Your friends may even think that you’re ignoring them on purpose!

But that little break from Facebook may cost you the friendships and connections you have built along the way.

Super-logoff

So what can you do? If you don’t want to delete your Facebook account outright (too many memories, I know), then you can simply deactivate it temporarily. It’s called the “super-logoff” and it was a trick used by early privacy-conscious users each time they left the site.

Deactivating your Facebook account won’t delete it, it will simply suspend it. You will keep all the data you’ve collected over the years and it will still be available when you reactivate your Facebook account.

Here’s how you do the Facebook “super-logoff”:

1. Go to your Facebook account’s Settings & Privacy page (On the desktop, click the upside-down triangle on the top-right then choose settings).
2. Select Your Facebook Information in the left column.
3. Select Deactivation and Deletion.
4. Click Deactivate Account, enter your password to continue, then confirm.

Keep in mind, that once you deactivate your account, your Facebook account will not be visible anymore. Your friends can’t search for you, tag you or message you. Your friends might even think you’ve deleted your account.

Don’t worry. Once your Facebook break is over, you can reactivate your account anytime by simply logging back in. You will need access to the email or phone number you used to sign up so always keep those handy when you deactivate. If you can’t remember your password, you can always request a new one.