Depending on your preferences, you can deactivate or permanently delete your Instagram account.
Deactivating your account is only temporary; however, your account, along with your profile, followers, photos, likes, and comments, will be hidden from other users while it is deactivated. Simply logging back into your account will restore all of this information and allow you to resume normal Instagram usage.
Deleting your Instagram account is irreversible – a deleted account cannot be recovered. When you delete your Instagram account, all of your data, including photos, followers, likes, and so on, is permanently erased.
Instagram Account Deactivation
Instagram cannot be deactivated via the app; it must be done via a web browser on the Instagram website. If you want to take a break from Instagram, follow these steps to deactivate your account:
- Log in to your Instagram account and click on the person icon to access your profile page.
- Choose ‘Edit Profile,’ scroll to the bottom of the page, and then click ‘Temporarily disable my account.’
- When asked, “Why are you disabling your account?” choose a reason from the drop-down menu.
- Retype your password and click the ‘Temporarily disable account’ button.
- Your account has been deactivated, and it will remain hidden from other users until you log in again. NOTE: You can only deactivate your Instagram account once per week, according to Instagram’s usage policy.
Downloading Your Instagram Data
When you delete your Instagram account, all of your data is permanently lost and cannot be recovered.
As a result, you may want to download your Instagram data before deleting your account to ensure that you retain all of the photos, videos, and other media that you have posted over time. To obtain a copy of your Instagram data, follow these steps:
- Navigate to your Instagram profile and click ‘Settings’ (gear icon).
- Click the ‘Privacy & Security tab and then the ‘Request Download’ button.
- Enter your email address, followed by your password, to receive a link to your Instagram data.
- Within 48 hours, you should receive an email titled ‘Your Instagram Data’ with a link to your data. Click the ‘Download Data’ button.
How to Delete Your Instagram Account in Steps
An Instagram account, like deactivating, can only be deleted via a web browser. Follow these simple steps to permanently delete your Instagram account:
- Log in to your Instagram account via the website.
- Navigate to the ‘Delete Your Account page on Instagram. Choose your reason for leaving from the drop-down menu.
- Enter your password and then click the ‘Permanently delete my account button.
- Your Instagram account has been deleted.
Other Methods for Keeping Your Data Private
Many of us use a Cloud Storage Service to back up and/or store important data. Choose a storage service that automatically encrypts your files if you use one of these. However, because the cloud provider controls the key to your encryption, they may be able to access your data and even share it with government authorities if they so desire.
You can get around this problem by manually encrypting your files yourself before uploading them to the cloud. As a result, you will be the sole owner of your data. As long as you don’t also upload the encryption keys to the cloud, your cloud provider will have no access.
There are several free encryption programs available that are simple to use, even if you have no prior experience manually encrypting your data.
Choose encryption software that works with your computer and mobile operating systems, as well as your cloud storage provider. End-to-end encryption should be used by your encryption program, and your password should never be stored.