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How to deactivate your Instagram account or delete it for good

When it comes to social media, Instagram is the ultimate virtual connector. With stunning visuals and increasingly useful features, Instagram is easily one of the top social media platforms in the world. But, like all good things, there are times when it must come to an end. 

Whether you need a short social media detox or you’re looking to go off the grid forever, this guide will teach you everything you need to know about deactivating your account before you delete Instagram permanently. 

Deactivate your Instagram account

Because deleting your Instagram account is permanent and final, Instagram recommends temporarily disabling your account first. If you do that, you can still recover the account and all of your content. 

How to upload photos to iCloud from your iPhone, Mac, or PC

How to deactivate your Instagram account

Deactivating your IG account is an easy way to either take a break from social media or decide if you really want to delete your Instagram account altogether.

Temporarily deactivating your account is a straightforward process. However, you can’t do it within the Instagram app. You have to log in to your account on your desktop browser, so make sure you have all of your correct log-in information on hand. 

Here’s how to deactivate your Instagram for now: 

  1. Open your desktop browser. 
  2. Go to Instagram. 
  3. Log in to your account. 
  4. Click on your profile picture at the top-right corner of the page. 
  5. Select Edit Profile.
  6. Scroll down and click Temporarily Disable My Account at the bottom-right corner of the page. 
  7. Select an option when asked why you are disabling your account. 
  8. Re-enter your password. 
  9. Click Temporarily Disable My Account. 

Remember: following these instructions will hide all of your content from your followers. No one will be able to see your account until you reactivate it by logging back in.

For how long can you disable your Instagram? 

You can keep your account temporarily disabled for as long as you like. You can reactivate it at any time by logging back in. However, there is one restriction. 

Instagram currently only allows you to disable your account once per week. So if you disable it, log back on, and then decide you want to disable it again, you’ll have to wait a week to do so.

Do you lose followers when you disable your Instagram account?

No. Because Instagram stores all of your account data when you temporarily disable your account, it will restore it to the state as it was in when you deleted it. 

Also, your account will disappear everywhere on the platform when you disable it — including other accounts’ lists of followers. In other words, people won’t be able to unfollow you while your account is hidden because they won’t be able to find you or see your account. 

Delete your Instagram account

If you’ve already tried temporarily disabling your Instagram account (or just deleting the app from your phone) but want to take more drastic measures, doing so is relatively simple. Just remember that deleting your account is permanent and can’t be reversed. 

To delete your account, you need to have your correct log-in information ready. 

How to delete your Instagram account on iPhone

At the time of this writing, you can’t delete your Instagram account from within the Instagram app. You can, however, delete your account on your iPhone through your mobile browser. 

Here’s how: 

  1. Open your mobile browser. 
  2. Go to Instagram’s Delete Your Account page.
  3. If you’re not logged in, follow the prompt to log in to your account. 
  4. Select an option when asked why you are disabling your account. 
  5. Re-enter your password. 
  6. Press Permanently Delete My Account. 

How to delete your Instagram account on desktop

Luckily, deleting your Instagram account on your desktop is just as simple. Here’s how to do it: 

  1. Open your desktop browser. 
  2. Go to Instagram’s Delete Your Account page.
  3. If you’re not logged in, follow the prompt to log in to your account. 
  4. Select an option when asked why you are disabling your account. 
  5. Re-enter your password. 
  6. Press Permanently Delete My Account. 

How to remove an Instagram account from the app

If you don’t want to disable or delete your Instagram account, you can always remove it from the app. However, if you want to continue using the Instagram app, you’ll have to add a different Instagram account or create a new one. 

Here’s how to remove an account from the Instagram app: 

  1. Open the Instagram app. 
  2. Press the icon of your profile picture in the bottom-right corner of the screen.  
  3. Press the downward-facing arrow next to your username at the top-center of the screen.
  4. Press the three horizontal lines at the top-right corner of the screen. 
  5. Press Settings > Log Out.

This method will work if you’re only logged in to one Instagram account. If you manage multiple accounts, removing one of them is a little trickier due to Instagram’s Single Login For Multiple Instagram Accounts feature. Luckily, we found a way around it. 

Here’s how to remove an account from the Instagram app if you’re logged in to multiple accounts: 

  1. Press and hold the Instagram app on your iPhone. 
  2. Select Delete App. 
  3. Wait a few moments and then open the App Store. 
  4. Search for Instagram. 
  5. Download Instagram. 
  6. Open the Instagram app. 
  7. Select the account you want to remove. 
  8. Press Remove. 

Doing this will essentially reset all of your information and log you out of all of the accounts you were logged into. When you reinstall the app, you can simply log in using the accounts you wish to keep on the app and remove the ones you no longer want to use. 

What happens when you delete or deactivate your Instagram?

If you’re considering getting rid of your Instagram account, you first have a choice to make: Do you want to deactivate your account or delete it altogether? 

When you deactivate your Instagram account

Deactivating your Instagram account is much different than deleting it.   When you deactivate an Instagram account, you are only temporarily disabling it. All your photos, comments, likes, and even your profile will be hidden from the public and your followers, but they’re not gone forever. Your account will remain hidden until you decide to reactivate it. 

When you delete your Instagram account

Deleting your Instagram account, on the other hand, is much more permanent.

When your account is deleted, your entire Instagram history is removed forever. That means all of your photos, videos, Story archives, messages, likes, and followers will be permanently removed. You cannot get them back. It will be as if your account never existed. 

Only you can delete your Instagram account; for security reasons, Instagram can’t do it for you. Also, it’s important to note that Instagram is unable to reactivate a deleted account, so it’s wise to be 100% sure that you want your account removed before doing so. 

If you do go through with deleting your account and decide later that you want to return to Instagram, you can. However, you can’t reactivate your old account — and you can’t sign up for a new account with the same old username. 

Instagram is a great app, but it’s not for everyone. Whether you just want to take a break from the feed or to escape from social media altogether, we hope this guide made removing your Instagram account a little easier. And if you need to know how to delete an Instagram post, we’ve covered that as well.

This was about:
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Emily Blackwood

Writer and editor, driven by curiosity and black coffee.

How to delete or temporarily disable your Instagram account

Michael Potuck

- Jan. 30th 2019 3:12 pm PT

@michaelpotuck

If you’re looking to cut all possible ties with Facebook and have already deleted your Facebook account, follow along for how to delete your Instagram account. We’ll also cover how to temporarily disable your account if you’re on the fence.

Whether it’s the latest news about Facebook’s controversial practices or you’ve been considering breaking up the with social media monopoly for a while, it’s straight forward and easy to delete your Instagram account (keep in mind Facebook owns WhatsApp in addition to Instagram).

Note that you can’t delete Instagram from the iPhone app. We’ve also included how to temporarily disable your account below.

How to delete your Instagram account

  1. Head to Instagram’s delete account page on a Mac or PC and log in
  2. Enter a reason for why you’re leaving Instagram
  3. Enter your password and click Permanently delete my account

Here’s how this looks:

How to temporarily disable your Instagram account

  1. Head to instagram.com on a Mac or PC and log in
  2. Click the profile icon (person) in the top right corner
  3. Select Edit Profile
  4. Click Temporarily disable my account
  5. Choose a reason, enter your password, and click Temporarily Disable Account

Here’s how the process looks:

For more help getting the most out of your Apple devices, check out our how to guide as well as the following articles:

  • How to deactivate or delete your Facebook account or change privacy settings on iPhone
  • How to permanently delete your WhatsApp account
  • How to adjust brightness on Apple Watch
  • How to recycle electronics of any brand at Apple, Best Buy, and Staples
  • How to turn off FaceTime on your iPhone, iPad, and Mac
  • How to use Tap to Talk with Walkie-Talkie on Apple Watch
  • How to customize LTE settings on iPhone and iPad
  • How to check iOS feature availability in your country
  • How to replace your Apple Pencil tip

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About the Author

Michael Potuck

@michaelpotuck

Michael is an editor for 9to5Mac. Since joining in 2016 he has written more than 3,000 articles including breaking news, reviews, and detailed comparisons and tutorials.

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Satechi USB-C Charger (4 ports)

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How to temporarily freeze your Instagram account from your phone and computer

Have you ever wanted to hide your Instagram* profile from everyone? Or remove it so that constant notifications do not interfere with work? In these cases, one thing stops - I don’t want to lose all the posts, correspondence, photos and likes. But an account on Instagram* can simply be frozen for a while and unfrozen when you need it.

Surely most Instagram users* at least once had a desire to delete their account. If you delete it completely, all publications with photos and videos, as well as Likes, comments and subscribers will disappear without the possibility of restoring everything. In such a case, Instagram* has developed an account freeze function - all likes and activities are saved and simply hidden. You can do this from a computer or with a little trick.

Why to freeze an account on Instagram*

There are different reasons for temporarily blocking a profile. It happens that the user wants to take a break from social networks, and constant notifications are annoying. Or someone just started a new profile and froze the old one. Perhaps there is no longer a need to maintain a company blog that used to bring leads and was popular. Or they decided to develop the blog in a different direction from the very beginning, but they don’t want to delete everything old.

If you just don't know what to write about in your blog, read our articles. If you need fresh ideas for posts, check out the article “What to write about on Instagram*: 20 timeless blog topics”. You need the right tools for the job – check out 15 Instagram Content Creation Tools*.

In any case, if you decide to freeze your account - your profile and its contents, all your actions on the site, comments and likes will not be deleted. They will be hidden until you restore your account. The main thing - do not forget the data from your account.

Instagram* has a condition. You can deactivate your account no more than once a week. This is a privacy setting to prevent users from using fake accounts.

If you are just tired of posting every day, you can do something simpler and at the same time more useful for the account and for its owner. Simply schedule many posts at once with the SMMplanner scheduling posting service. Prepare posts and go do other things - publications will be released on the days and hours assigned to them. And you can relax and find ideas for work somewhere else. When registering via the link to SMMplanner, you will get free access to all functionality for 2 weeks. If you were looking for an excuse to try automating work - here it is :–)

How to freeze your Instagram account* from the phone

If you still decide and are determined to temporarily freeze your Instagram profile* without losing your account, then here is a small instruction: to your Instagram profile* and click on the burger menu - 3 horizontal lines in the upper right corner. In the window that appears, select "Settings".

Settings menu

Next, click "Help" and after opening the next window - "Help Center".

Help Center

You have reached the Instagram Help Center*. Here you can find a lot of useful information both about the site itself and specifically about your profile.

But we are here to freeze your Instagram* account from your phone. Therefore, click on the burger menu and select "Account Management" in the new window.

"Delete account" menu

In the account management menu, select "Delete account". And if you have not yet changed your mind about freezing your profile, choose the help "How to temporarily disable your Instagram account *?" Otherwise, you can accidentally lose your profile completely.

How to temporarily disable your account

In the help that opens, select "Instagram.com in a browser on a mobile device."

Switching to the web version via smartphone browser

Click on the link and go to your page, which will open in your smartphone browser. Go to the main page of your profile, to do this, click on the profile photo in the lower right corner.

How to disable my account temporarily

Now click "Edit Profile" and scroll down the page to select "Temporarily disable my account".

Select the reason for the temporary ban

Remember that we are here to temporarily freeze your Instagram* account, not delete it completely. You don’t have to worry, you can restore your account at any time, but for now your publications, comments and likes will be hidden - only temporarily.

The system will ask: "Why did you decide to block your account?" You can choose any answer you like from the suggested ones. If you don't like any of the options, you can choose "Other" and write your answer. The system will accept any answer.

How to disable a profile

Enter your account password and click "Temporarily disable account".

Now you have a temporarily disabled account

It's not easy for Instagram* to let you go and ask you to think for a second: “You are going to temporarily disable your account. Proceed?" Choose the answer option, in our case it is “Yes”, and you get a frozen Instagram account*.

By the way, if you don't want to develop a new account, you can buy a ready-made one with live subscribers. Whether it is necessary and how profitable it is - read our article “Why buy an Instagram account* with live followers”.

How to freeze an Instagram account* from a computer

The procedure for freezing an Instagram profile* from a computer is the same as through a smartphone browser. You can freeze your account from the web version of Instagram* or through the official application pre-installed for PC.

We will do this using the "INSSIST|Web Assistant for Instagram*" extension from Google Chrome. This extension is useful for its functionality, it allows you to use Instagram from a computer and perform operations that are available in the official mobile application, but not available in the web version.

Extension « INSSIST|Web Assistant for Instagram*»

Click on your profile photo and then click on Edit Profile.

Disable account via Google Chrome extension

Then click on "Temporarily disable my account". After you have entered your password and answered the question "Why did you decide to block your account?", Click "Temporarily disable your account" and select "Yes".

That's it, your profile is temporarily frozen.

If you still have any problems, you can contact technical support. We wrote about the ways in which you can contact them in the article “4 Ways to Contact Instagram Technical Support*”. There we told how to do it without problems and delays and when to wait for a response from the company.

How to recover a frozen Instagram account*

If you are still afraid of the thought that you have frozen all your posts and likes, we hasten to reassure you. To restore a frozen account, just go to the Instagram application* and enter your username and password from your account.

You can also use any browser, go to the instagram.com website and enter your data in the same way as in the application. Everything is as usual. Enter your username and password and you're done. The page is active again.

Restoring a frozen profile

If you decide to restore your profile and sell goods or services through it, read the article “How to create an Instagram profile* for selling services”. In it, we told you how to prepare an account so that people understand what they can buy and why it should be done in your profile.

By the way, you can learn more about working with the Instagram platform*, advertising and everything else at the SMM.school courses. There you will be told how to run ads, create profile-appropriate content, promote your account, and more.

In conclusion

We have figured out how to temporarily freeze Instagram * without losing your account. With a flick of the wrist, an active Instagram profile * turns into a frozen one. The main thing in all this is not to lose your login and password, but it is better to write them down somewhere. Another option is to link your profile to Facebook*. Then the recovery process will be even faster.

More about Instagram*, the nuances of how the social network works, publishing content and creating it - in our blog.

How to temporarily delete (disable) your Instagram account

Social networks have already become such an integral part of our lives that from time to time you frankly start to get tired of them. Do you want to take a break from Instagram? Such a desire is quite understandable. But instead of completely deleting the app or your profile, try simply deactivating your Instagram account temporarily. It is likely that in a month you will want to use the services of this service again. And, having entered it, you will see all your records in the same place - as if there was no downtime.

♥ BY TOPIC: How to properly unfollow a person on Instagram so that they don’t find out (so as not to offend).

How to temporarily disable your Instagram account

Temporarily disabling your Instagram account removes your profile from the social network for the period of time you need to take a break from the service. The link to your Instagram profile will become invalid, users will not be able to find you in the search, and they will also not be able to contact you. But these features will be restored after the account is reactivated.

You can temporarily deactivate your Instagram account whether it is a personal account or a business account.

Oddly enough, you won't be able to disable your account from the Instagram app on iPhone or Android. Instead, you will need to use the Instagram website.

1. Open the Instagram website on your computer or smartphone browser and log in with the account you want to disable.

2. Go to the main profile page and select " Edit profile " there.

Alternatively, you can go directly to this link to go directly to the profile editing screen.

3. In this section, scroll down and click on the option " Temporarily disable my account ".

4. Instagram will ask you why your account was deactivated. You can select options from the drop down menu. If they do not suit you, or you do not want to specify a specific reason, then select the option " Other .”

After the choice is made, you will need to enter your Instagram password in a special field.

5. Now again you will need to click on the blue button " Temporarily block account " at the bottom of the page. Once again, Instagram will ask you if you want to continue. It remains only to press the button " Yes " in the pop-up window.

This will disable your Instagram account. On the smartphone, the application will exit the service. To see the result of what you have done, you can try searching for yourself by username on Instagram.

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