Instagram is a very popular social media platform mostly used for image or video sharing purposes. It has more than 2 billion monthly active users. If you are an active social media person, you might have used the Instagram at least once in your life. If not, go to the Instagram website and give it a try.
Coming to the matter, deleting an Instagram account is very simple. You don’t have to do any super-technical things to remove an Instagram account. Whether you are a beginner or an expert on the internet, you will find it extremely easy to do it. So, without wasting your time, let’s dive into our guide.
Why you should delete Instagram?
Before proceeding to the steps for removing your Instagram profile, you should be asking this question yourself. If you don’t have an answer, then you probably don’t need to delete it, and you can read some other awesome stuff on our website. If you have a definite answer for your question like account got hacked, and I no longer need an Instagram account, you can continue with the process.
Apart from deleting an unused Instagram account, there are situations where you should do it. However, it is complete up to you whether to remove your account or not. We recommend removing your Instagram account and use one of the Instagram alternatives (if you want to) when you face any of the following problems. These are the reasons to delete an Instagram account –
- Your Instagram account got hacked – If you found some unusual activity on your Instagram profile and then found that your account has been hacked or someone else has access to your profile, you may proceed with removing your Instagram account. Always make sure that you tried changing the Instagram password and took other security measures. If the problem is still there, you can continue with the process.
- Your Instagram account security is at risk – Instead of being hacked, you are afraid that someone else has got access to your credentials even after changing them multiple times, you may disable your Instagram account either temporarily or permanently.
- The account is not being used – If you have multiple Instagram profiles and some of them are no longer used, you may delete them. Make sure to back up all the important photos and videos in your Instagram account before proceeding the deletion steps. You can use a good cloud storage for photos to store them.
- To have a fresh Insta account – If you wanted to refresh your Instagram profile by deleting all the current stuff on the profile, you may either clean up the complete profile and have a fresh start or can simply sign up for a fresh Instagram account. Starting a new account will reset every information on your account. However, if you move to another username, the old username may be available for other users to set as theirs. So, if you want to secure your username, you should either connect it with another email and details before moving to the new account.
- Instagram is consuming so much of your time – We discussed why social media is bad earlier. Instagram is a social media network. Social medias have advantages and disadvantages. Time consumption is one of them. So, if you do not want to spend hours on Instagram looking at others posts, you should probably get rid of it.
Things to know before disabling your Instagram account
Once you decided to go with removing your Instagram account, there are a few more things you should know. We listed them below for your reference. These are the things you should know before disabling your Instagram account.
- You could either disable or remove your Instagram – Disabling an Instagram account doesn’t necessarily mean that you have to remove it permanently from the internet. Instagram has a temporary account removal option which lets you take a break from your account. This is mostly used in situations where your security is at risk, and you wanted to resolve it. So, only go for the permanent account removal if you really need it.
- It will remove all your photos/videos from your profile – Removing the Instagram will also remove all your account data including photos/videos that you uploaded, your likes, comments, etc. So, if you really want to remove your account, make sure that you have the backup of your important photos and videos that are residing on Instagram servers.
- You will no longer be able to comment, like, or post using that account – Nevertheless to say that you will no longer be able to complete any actions using the deleted Instagram account. You will no longer be able to post, like, or comment unless you signed up for another Instagram profile. So, if you are wondering, why can’t you like comments on Instagram?, it’s probably because of an inactive account. Make sure that you are logged in, and your account is active.
How to disable Instagram account temporarily?
Like already mentioned, you can temporarily disable an Instagram account. It will remove your account until you decide to restore it. Temporarily disabling the account can be helpful in situations where you face security issues. Here are the steps to disable Instagram account temporarily –
- Log into instagram.com with your account credentials.
- Click the user icon in the top right corner.
- Select Edit Profile option from the dropdown.
- Scroll down to the bottom of the screen and click Temporarily disable my account link in the right.
- Now, select an option from the drop-down menu next to Why are you disabling your account? (You should select a reason to proceed with the account deletion process.)
- Enter your password if asked.
- Finally, click Temporarily Disable Account.
How to delete Instagram account permanently?
If you wanted to permanently remove your Instagram account, the steps are a little different from that of above. Only continue with these steps after reading the above sections. Once done, you may not be able to get back your Instagram profile. So, here are the steps to delete an Instagram account permanently –
- Visit the Instagram Permanent Account Removal page.
- Log in to the account if you didn’t already.
- Now, it will ask you Why are you deleting your account? Enter the reason.
- Enter the password if asked.
- Click on Permanently delete my account.
Instagram is a nothing less than a perfect solution to showcase your favorite photographs and videos, connect with the fans, and like others pictures. However, once you need to get rid of it, you could utilize any of the above-given methods. We hope you successfully deleted your Instagram profile. If not, do let us know the problems you are facing.
FAQs
These are some of the frequently asked questions about deleting Instagram –
1. What is the difference between deactivating and deleting an Instagram account?
Deactivating your Instagram account will temporarily deactivate it. You can still re-activate the account within the next 30-days from the date of deactivation. It is a temporary removal of the account which is reversible.
Deleting Instagram accounts permanently removes it along with all your photos, videos, and such. You will not be able to recover a deleted Instagram account. It is a permanent process that is irreversible.
2. Is it possible to remove Instagram without password?
No. It is not possible to remove an Instagram account if you don’t know its password. In some cases, if you can prove that you are the real owner of the account in question, you may be able to get help from the Instagram support.
3. How many days Instagram keep your data after account deletion?
Instagram holds your photos and videos that you uploaded to Instagram for 90 days from the date of account deletion. So, if you decide that you didn’t have to delete the Instagram account, you may still be able to get back those files.