How To Delete Instagram Account : The Ultimate Guide

Instagram is like a daily ritual for people of this generation. It gives them a sneak peek into the lives of their friends and family. Moreover, it gives you a window to peek into celebrity lives. However, sometimes it gets overwhelming, and you need a break. 

This is when you look for “how to delete an Instagram account.” Well, you can temporarily and permanently delete your Instagram account to get yourself away from all the riff-raffs for a while.  

However, detoxing social media is also important from time to time. So, if you are thinking of cutting down or quitting social media completely, you are at the right place. Let’s look at this complete guide on “how to delete an Instagram account.” 

Why do people deactivate or disable their accounts from Instagram? 

There could be various reasons, but most people deactivate or disable their Instagram accounts for mental health.

Social media can bring some excitement and vibrance to your life. However, it can drain you mentally and induce anxiety as well. Disabling the account can help you recharge your mental well-being. 

Moreover, Instagram is known to reduce productivity. Instagram has a lot of content, and with its smart algorithm, you will find engaging and relevant content on your feed. You can spend hours browsing your feed, without knowing how much time you have been scrolling. 

Some people like to disable their accounts when they have exams coming in phases when they need to focus more on their lives. Some disable their account because of some privacy issues.  

These days, when data leaks happen often, some people prefer to hide their information online, and because of that, they decide to deactivate the account. People also deactivate their account because they are unable to manage it.  

When an account grows fast, with multiple accounts and platforms to handle, users find it overwhelming with this increased interaction. It is natural to get frustrated in these situations. Disabling the accounts rather than looking for alternative methods seems a lot easier. 

Understanding recovery and deletion of Instagram account 

Instagram is among the leading social media platforms in the world right now. It has some fixed community guidelines, and there are certain terms that users have to follow when using the app. Certain things are considered as violations. Such as: 

• Impersonation 

• Hate speech 

• Sharing some prohibited content 

• Spamming 

• Harassment 

• Harmful behavior 

There are a few actions that Instagram takes very seriously, and these actions lead to account deletion. However, it is also possible to recover deleted accounts using specific methods, provided that users take the required actions on time. 

Knowing the entry and exits of this recovery process for a deleted account is important for those who want to regain access and protect their account from future problems. However, it could be about deactivating or deleting the account permanently; knowing the difference between the two is important. 

Devolution and deactivation: The difference 

On Instagram, users can either delete their accounts or deactivate them. However, each of these carries a different weight. Deleting is a kind of permanent action, whereas deactivating is a temporary measure. You can take the much-needed break and come back to your account afterward. 

So, if you are worried that you have deleted your Instagram account recently and think you will never be able to get back to your account, that is not the case. You still have a fair chance of getting your account back even after deleting it. 

However, there is still a catch. You have to think it through before you deactivate the account temporarily or permanently delete the account. When you deactivate an account, you get back all the posts, likes, comments, and direct messages when you reactivate the account. You can only deactivate an account once a week. 

However, if you have chosen to delete the account because of any kind of disuse or privacy worries, there is no option for recovery. After you create another account, there is no chance of getting any data back. 

Account suspension and bans

Apart from voluntarily deactivating and deleting an account, an Instagram account can also be deactivated if Instagram chooses to suspend or ban the account.  

This usually happens because of any suspicious activity, violation of community guidelines, mass reporting, unauthorized access, excessive posting in a short span of time, or logging in from multiple IP addresses and different devices.  

If Instagram has deleted your account for any of the above-mentioned reasons, you will less likely be able to recover the account. However, if your account was deleted because you violated any guidelines, you can challenge the decision and ask for a review of the procedure mentioned in the Help Center. 

How to delete an Instagram account?

If you are determined to delete your account, you will find ample reasons to do so. Whatever the reason is, while you prepare yourself for that one last post with the latest trending background score, here are the steps you must follow to delete an Instagram account. 

How to delete your Instagram account on your Android phone? 

If you have decided to permanently delete your Instagram account from your phone, here are a few easy steps that can help you get on with the process from your Android phone. 

1. Click on the profile icon and tap on the three-bar symbol on the top right corner of the screen. 

2. Go to “Account Centre” and click “Personal Details.” 

3. Then tap on “Account Ownership” and “Control.” Then select Deletion or Deactivation. 

4. After that, select the account, click on “Delete Account,” and click on “Continue.” 

How to delete an Instagram account on an iPhone? 

If you are using iOS and looking for “how to delete an Instagram account,” here are the steps you must follow. 

1. Open the app and go to your profile. 

2. Click on the hamburger menu and tap “Setting and Privacy” from the list. 

3. Choose “Account Center.” 

4. Go to “Personal Details”> “Account ownership and control”> “Deactivation or Deletion.” 

5. Select “Delete Account” from the bottom. 

6. Instagram will notify you with a date after which you cannot retrieve the account. Then, tap on the “Continue Deleting Account” option. 

7. After that, you need to answer why you are deleting the account and again enter the password. 

8. Then the process is complete after you select Delete Username and then Ok. 

How to delete your Instagram account from your Mac or PC? 

If you want to delete your Instagram account from your desktop, follow these steps. 

1. Go to Instagram from your website using your preferred browser and log in to your account. 

2. After logging in, visit the “Delete your account” page. 

3. Click “Why do you want to delete?” from the dropdown menu and select the reason for deleting the account.  

4. After choosing, again re-enter the password, click on the “Delete” username, and then delete the account permanently. 

Steps to temporarily disable or deactivate your account 

If you want to take that much-needed break from Instagram or simply want to go for a social media detox, then here are the steps that you must follow to deactivate the account temporarily. 

1. Click on the profile icon and go to your profile from the bottom right corner. 

2. Go to the three horizontal lines from the top-right corner of the account. 

3. Select “Settings and Privacy”>”Accounts Centre”>”Personal Details”>”Account ownership and Control”>”Deactivation or Deletion.” 

4. Choose the account you wish to take down temporarily. 

5. Select “Deactivate account” and then “Continue.” 

6. Then, enter your password and select “continue,” and you are done. 

Does Instagram prevent any account from deactivation? 

Instagram never stops anyone from deactivating their account. However, they tend to make it difficult for anyone who tries to deactivate the Instagram account. It could be because of the interface design or some technical issues.  

People often experience glitches and bugs to prevent deactivation. Some struggle to deactivate the accounts as the “deactivate account” option is hidden from the menu, or sometimes it is completely missing. 

Can’t find the button for account deactivation? What should you do?

Sometimes, there is a bug or technical glitch that hides the button for account deactivation. Here are four methods to try to delete the account or deactivate it even when the button is missing. 

Firstly, you can try to clear the browser or the app cache. Often, stale data leads to malfunction, so clearing the cache can quickly fix the problem. 

Secondly, make sure that you have the latest version of Instagram. If not, then update the app and check once again. You might find the “deactivate account” or “delete account” button. 

Thirdly, if both these options don’t work, you can try to access the website. Sometimes, the app malfunctions. If you try accessing it from your desktop browser, you might find the deactivate it or delete it option. 

Lastly, if everything fails, you can contact customer support from Instagram and seek help. They will be able to help you permanently or temporarily delete the account. 

Want to recover your Instagram account? Know how 

After you have figured out “how to delete your Instagram account” and go through the process, you might have second thoughts. You might even start missing the account. If you want to retrieve the account, Instagram gives you 30 days from the day you deleted the account. 

Your account will not be visible to anyone in between this time. On the 30th day, the account will be completely deleted, and you cannot retrieve it further. If it is within the 30-day limit, you can just log back in from a browser or your mobile and click the “Keep Account” option. 

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