How To Deactivate Instagram: Temporarily or Permanently

Instagram Tanmay Ratnaparkhe

Instagram is not for everyone. Some individuals regret the time they spend on Instagram for different reasons and pledge to spend fewer hours scrolling through the endless Instagram posts.

Some individuals have had negative experiences as a result of improper activity on Instagram. Others just become tired of Instagramming and seek other meaningful ways to spend their time.

You might opt to delete your Instagram account, keeping your social connections and followers in the dark about what happened. You can also close your account in a more organized manner, either temporarily or permanently.

Whether you need a quick social media detox or want to go completely offline, this guide will teach you all you need to know about deactivating your account or permanently deleting Instagram.

Table of Contents

What Happens When You Delete or Deactivate Your Instagram?

If you wish to get rid of your Instagram account, you must first decide whether you want to deactivate it or delete it permanently.

Deactivating Your Instagram Account

Deactivating your Instagram account is not the same as deleting it. When you deactivate an Instagram account, you are just temporarily removing it from the platform. All of your images, comments, likes, and even your profile will be hidden from the general public and followers, but they will not be lost forever. Your account will be inactive unless you want to reactivate it.

Deleting Your Instagram Account

Deleting your Instagram account, on the other hand, has far-reaching consequences. When you delete your account, your whole Instagram history is erased. That means you’ll lose all of your images, videos, Story archives, messages, likes, and followers. You won’t be able to get them back. It will be just as if your account did not exist.

Only ‘you’ can deactivate your Instagram account; Instagram cannot do so for security reasons. It’s also worth noting that Instagram cannot revive a deleted account, so make sure you want to deactivate your account before proceeding.

If you delete your account and subsequently decide that you want to return to Instagram, you can. You cannot, however, reactivate your previous account or create a new account with the same old username.

Should You Deactivate Your Instagram Account?

If you’ve had enough of Instagram and all the time you spend crafting your posts and scrolling other’s, the best option for you will be to deactivate your account. When you deactivate an account, you basically put it on hold. It’s still on Instagram’s servers, waiting for you to return and bring it back to life.

The benefit of deactivating your account rather than deleting it is that you can return it at some point in the future if you change your mind. Many enraged Instagrammers have stated that they have had enough of Instagram and deleted their accounts, only to return anonymous in the future, needing to start a new account with no trace of their previous online identity.

If you have been cyberbullied or really think you will never return to Instagram, you may be tempted to remove all traces of your account.

How to deactivate your Instagram account?

Instagram conceals your profile, images, comments, and likes if you temporarily deactivate your account. They are still alive and well on a cloud server, waiting for you to return in the near future (or even tomorrow if you leave in a rash temper).

To achieve this, you must access your Instagram account using a web browser rather than an app. Here’s how to temporarily deactivate your Instagram account:

How to deactivate your Instagram account? — Source: Business Insider

Open your desktop web browser.
Visit Instagram.
Sign in to your account.
In the top-right corner of the page, click on your profile image.
Choose Edit Profile.
Scroll down to the bottom-right corner of the page and select Temporarily Disable My Account.
When asked why you are deactivating your account, select an option.
Enter your password again.
Click Disable My Account Temporarily.

For How Long Can You Deactivate Your Instagram?

You can deactivate your account temporarily for as long as you like. You can always reactivate it by logging back in. There is, however, one limitation.

You may presently deactivate your Instagram account once per week. So, if you deactivate it, log back in, and wish to disable it again, you’ll have to wait a week.

Will you Lose Followers When You Deactivate Your Instagram Account?

No, since Instagram saves all of your account data, temporarily disabling your account restores it to the condition it was in when you deactivated it.

When you deactivate your account, it will be disappeared from the platform, including the lists of followers. People will be unable to unfollow you if your account is hidden since they will be unable to discover you or see your account.

How to Permanently Delete Your Instagram Account?

Remember that deleting your Instagram account permanently will result in the loss of all of your Instagram online assets, including your profile data, photographs, videos, likes, comments, and followers. If you click the Delete option, it is irreversible, and you will have to start the new account creation procedure again if you desire to return.

At the very least, make sure you’ve backed up all of your images and videos somewhere since you won’t be able to recover them if you delete your account. In the lower sections of this blog, we have given instructions on how to request Instagram to send you to download access to all of your data.

Your username will be “used up” after you delete your account. You cannot sign in again to restore it. If you return to Instagram in the future, you must create a new username.

How can you delete your Instagram account on your Mobile Browser?

Source: Backlight Blog

You cannot remove your Instagram account from inside the Instagram app. However, you may erase your account on your phone using your mobile browser. Here’s how it’s done:

Open your mobile web browser.
Navigate to the Delete Your Account page on Instagram.
If you are not already logged in, follow the prompt to log in.
When asked why you are disabling your account, select an option.
Enter your password again.
Select Delete My Account Permanently.

How Can You Delete Your Instagram Account on Your Desktop?

Fortunately, deleting your Instagram account from your computer is also very simple. Here’s how to do it:

Open your desktop web browser.
Navigate to the Delete Your Account page on Instagram.
If you are not already logged in, follow the prompt to log in.
When asked why you are disabling your account, select an option.
Enter your password again.
Select Delete My Account Permanently.

How Can You Remove an Instagram Account From the App?

You may always remove your Instagram account from the app if you don’t want to deactivate or delete it. If you wish to keep using the Instagram app, you must add a different Instagram account or create a new one.

How Can You Remove your Account From the App? — Source: Backlight Blog

Here’s how to remove an Instagram account:

Open the Instagram app.
In the bottom-right corner of the screen, click the icon of your profile photo.
In the top center of the screen, click the downward-facing arrow next to your username.
At the top-right corner of the screen, press the three horizontal lines.
Navigate to Settings > Log Out.

This strategy works if you just have one Instagram account open. Due to Instagram’s Single Login For Numerous Instagram Accounts feature, removing one of your accounts is a bit more difficult if you manage multiple accounts. Fortunately, we discovered a workaround.

If you’re logged in through multiple accounts, here’s how to remove one of them from the Instagram app:

On your iPhone, hold down the Instagram app.
Choose Delete App.
Wait a few seconds before opening the App Store.
Look for Instagram.
Install Instagram.
Open the Instagram app.
Choose the account you wish to remove.
Select Remove.

How to Reactivate Your Instagram Account?

It is possible that you may change your mind about not using your Instagram account. Perhaps you deactivated it because you were too busy to create and check on Instagram posts, and now you have some free time.

If you just deactivated your account and did not delete it, you can revive it and pick up where you left off. If you deleted it, you must create a new account with a new username and password.

Log back into Instagram, assuming you didn’t deactivate your account and still have access to your previous password and username. When you log in, Instagram will prompt you to reactivate your account.

When you choose that option, your account will be restored as if it had always been there (although probably minus a few followers who will have unfollowed you in your absence).

How Many Times Can You Deactivate Instagram?

As previously said, you can revive your account by logging back in. However, there is a limitation in the process of deactivating and reactivating your account.

Instagram now only enables you to deactivate your account once each week. So, if you deactivate and then revive your account, you must wait a week before you can disable it again. Apart from that, you can deactivate and reactivate your account as many times as you like, giving you complete control over your account and privacy.

How Can You Access Your Data on Instagram?

Since the Cambridge Analytica scandal, Facebook and Instagram have been very cautious about keeping people’s data. As a consequence, they have strengthened their data access and privacy rules.

Many individuals are unaware that it is extremely easy to access and check your Instagram data. The approach you choose is determined by whether you are using Instagram on the web or an iOS or Android app.

How Can You Access Your Data? — Source: Guiding Tech

If you’re using Instagram on the web:

Go to your profile
Click the rotary wheel-shaped Settings button.
Then you choose “Privacy and Security.”
Scroll all the way down to “Account Data.”
Click “View Account Data.”
Click “View All” if you want to look at a certain category of data.

If you want to do this on the mobile app

Go to your profile and press the “hamburger” symbol to get the same results (three horizontal bars).
Then, hit the Settings wheel
Choose “Security” and then “Account Data.”
Again, press “View All” to access a particular category of data.

How Can You Download Your Instagram Posts and Account Details Before Deactivating/Deleting Your Account?

If you want to deactivate(or even delete) your Instagram account, you should first backup your data. You can request this from Instagram.

Here is how you can do it:

Begin by navigating to your profile and selecting the Settings rotary wheel symbol while using Instagram on the browser.
Then, choose “Privacy and Security.”
Scroll down to “Data Download” and press the “Request Download” button.

Instagram will then request your email address and Instagram password. Use the same email address where you want your data to be sent. Instagram will eventually send you an email with a link to your data. Click “Download Data” and then follow the on-screen directions.

If you use a mobile app, the procedure is quite similar.

This time, you must first choose the “hamburger” option before tapping on the Settings button.
Then click on “Security” – “Download Data.”
Enter your email address and press the “Request Download” button.
When asked, enter your Instagram password and then wait for the email mentioned above.

Instagram advises that it may take up to 48 hours before the email containing your download link is sent.

Some Important Points To Consider

Now that you understand the procedure, examine further facts on Instagram deactivation/deletion to help you make an educated decision.

Before you disable your Instagram account, you may instantly save all of your Instagram data, including images, tagged photos, Instagram stories, messages, and so on.
Other Instagram users will be unable to discover your username or account once you deactivate it since it will no longer be available to them. Even if people look for you in DMs, all they’ll see is an account called ‘Instagrammer.’
If someone visits your account, it will show ‘No Posts Yet’ and have no followers.

When you decide to return, make sure you publish at the appropriate time to reach a larger audience and inform everyone that you’ve reactivated your account.

Wrapping It Up

Instagram may be a great platform for both companies and people, but you may want to deactivate/delete your account at some point. Perhaps you’re taking a vacation from social media or switching to a new network. We hope this tutorial makes it a bit simpler to deactivate your Instagram account.

For more informative content about Instagram, social media, software reviews, and eCommerce, you can always visit Predis.ai.

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