How to delete Instagram: Here’s how to deactivate your Insta account temporarily or permanently
Spider-Man actor Tom Holland has announced that he is taking a social media break for his mental health.
The 26-year-old had been absent from social media for the past few weeks until he returned to Instagram on Sunday to post a three-minute-long video update.
In the post, the Uncharted actor revealed that he has deleted Twitter and Instagram from his devices in order to take respite.
Holland told his 67.7 million followers how the social media apps had become “detrimental” to him as he would continue to read things about himself online and “spiral”.
The BRIT school graduate wrote: “Hello and goodbye... I have been taking a break from social media for my mental health, but felt compelled to come on here to talk about @stem4org .
“Stem4 is one of the many charities @thebrotherstrust is extremely proud to support—and I’d like to take a moment to shine a light on their fantastic work... Love to you all, and let’s get talking about mental health.”
Here’s everything you need to know about deleting Instagram either permanently or temporarily.
How to temporarily deactivate Instagram
If you’re deactivating your account for a set period, with the idea that you’ll come back, it’s really simple. Log into Instagram, either from a mobile browser, web browser, or on the app.
In order to deactivate your account on your iPhone app, you first need to tap your profile picture in the bottom right in order to go to your profile, then in the top right, tap “Settings.”
Then, tap Account, before tapping “Deactivate account” at the bottom. You then need to select an option from the drop-down menu below, “Why do you want to deactivate your [account name],” before re-entering your password.
On a browser, tap or click your icon to go to your profile and click account, then settings. An option at the bottom of this page will allow you to temporarily deactivate your account.
Remember, all your photos, comments and likes will be hidden until you reactivate the account. And, you can only disable your account once a week so try not to make a habit out of it.
If you want to reactivate your account, log into the Instagram app.
How to delete Instagram permanently
You’ve decided to go the whole hog and fully delete yourself from Instagram. There are two ways you can do this—both on a browser and on the iPhone app.
In order to delete your account on your iPhone app, you first need to tap your profile picture in the bottom right in order to go to your profile, then in the top right, tap “Settings.”
The, tap Account, before tapping “Delete account” at the bottom. You then need to select an option from the drop-down menu below, “Why do you want to delete your [account name],” before re-entering your password.
The option to permanently delete your account will then appear after you’ve selected a reason from the menu, and entered your password.
Finally, tap “Delete [username],” then tap OK to confirm.
If you’re deleting your account on desktop, the process is slightly different. You need to visit the Delete Your Account page on Instagram’s help centre, where you will be asked to log in.
Then you can select a reason why you want to leave the platform, and re-enter your password to remove yourself from Instagram. You need to select a reason from the menu otherwise Instagram won’t let you go.
You will then be asked to re-enter your password again before you can click or tap the delete button. Instagram says it will take 30 days for your account to delete, as well as your data to be erased permanently. During that time, your account will not be accessible on Instagram.
