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Deletion guides / Leaving Meta

How to leave Meta: the checklist

Facebook, Instagram, Messenger, WhatsApp, and Threads are all one company, and they're tangled together. Delete them in the wrong order and you can lose your photos, lock yourself out of other apps, or accidentally cancel your own deletion. Here's the order that works.

Last checked October 2026

Quick answer

Download your data first, move any apps you sign into with Facebook over to an email login, and tell your contacts where to find you. Then delete Threads, Instagram, Facebook (Messenger goes with it), and WhatsApp. Stay logged out for 30 days, because logging back in, even through another app, cancels a Facebook or Instagram deletion.

Before you delete anything

  1. Download your data. In Facebook or Instagram, go to Accounts Center > Your information and permissions > Download your information. Meta prepares the file and tells you when it's ready. For WhatsApp, export the chats you want to keep from inside each chat.
  2. Find every app you log into with Facebook. In Facebook's settings, look for Apps and websites. For each one you still use, sign in to that app and switch it to an email and password, or you may lose access when Facebook is gone.
  3. Hand off Pages and groups. If you run a Facebook Page or group, add another admin first, or it may go away with you.
  4. Tell people where to find you. Post where you're going, and move family group chats to another messaging app before you leave. This is usually the hardest part, especially for WhatsApp.
  5. Check for Meta hardware. Meta Quest headsets and Meta smart glasses can use their own Meta account. Decide what to do with those devices before you delete.

Then delete, in this order

  1. Threads. You can now delete Threads without deleting Instagram. In the Threads app, go to Settings > Account and choose to delete your profile.
  2. Instagram. Through Accounts Center. See how to delete Instagram.
  3. Facebook and Messenger. Deleting Facebook also deletes Messenger. See how to delete Facebook, or Messenger if you have a Messenger-only account.
  4. WhatsApp. Last, once your contacts know where to find you. See how to delete WhatsApp.

The 30-day trap

Facebook and Instagram give you 30 days to change your mind. Logging in during that time cancels the deletion, and that includes logging in through another app or website with "Log in with Facebook." Sign out everywhere, remove the apps from your phone, and stay out for the full 30 days. After that, Meta says it can take up to 90 days to remove everything.

Not ready to leave? Limit the tracking

Meta collects data about what you do on other apps and websites. You can see and cut that off in Accounts Center > Your information and permissions > Your activity off Meta technologies, where you can clear past activity and turn off future activity. Menu names change, so if it looks different, search Accounts Center for "off Meta."

What Meta keeps anyway

Messages you sent stay in other people's inboxes. Photos you appear in that friends posted stay on their accounts. Meta may also hold your phone number or email from friends who uploaded their contacts. If you live in a state with a consumer privacy law, such as California, Colorado, Connecticut, Maryland, Minnesota, or Oregon, you can ask Meta to delete personal information it holds about you. See what your state's law requires.

Meta is a few accounts. You have dozens more.

Most people have accounts with dozens of companies, from shopping sites to apps they've forgotten. DataTrail scans your inbox (read-only) to find them all, flags the ones with data breaches, and writes the deletion requests for you.

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Sources: WhatsApp Help Center, Messenger Help Center, Tom's Guide on deleting Threads, and iPhone Life on off-Meta activity. DataTrail isn't affiliated with Meta. Menus change; if a step looks different, check Meta's help centers. This page is general information, not legal advice.