LONDON – The question many users of Meta’s platforms, such as Facebook, Instagram, and Threads, are asking is whether they should continue using these services or leave them altogether. This inquiry has intensified recently following CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s announcement regarding a relaxation of rules surrounding harmful content such as hate speech and the discontinuation of the company’s fact-checking program, which is now being replaced with crowdsourced notes.

As a result, many users are contemplating the deletion of their Meta accounts. If you find yourself in this dilemma, here are some essential steps to consider.

**Backup Your Data**
Before proceeding to delete your Facebook account, it’s crucial to download a copy of your personal data. This includes information about your activities, shared content, and the data collected by Meta regarding your usage. To initiate the download, navigate to your settings or the accounts center — which serves as the main hub for all your Meta accounts. From there, you can choose to download all your data or just specific items like your profile information, posts, messages, comments, reactions, friends list, and even your activity such as clicked ads and IP addresses used.

Furthermore, you can specify a date range for your download, whether you’re looking for data from the last month, six months, or the entire duration of your account. If you’re downloading photos, you can pick the quality level as desired: low, medium, or high. Do keep in mind that for security reasons, you only have four days to complete the download after initiating it. Users of Instagram and Threads will find a similar process in place.

For Instagram users, it’s worth noting that a password will be required to download files, and the receipt of your download link via email might take up to 30 days, according to the platform’s guidance. If your main focus is to retrieve only your shared photos and videos, Facebook provides a distinct option for transferring these files to other online services like Google Photos, Dropbox, or Photobucket.

**Keeping in Touch**
For those considering departure from Facebook, it’s advisable to check for friends or connections you wish to maintain contact with. You can reach out to them for their phone numbers, emails, or other communication methods outside of Meta’s platforms. Sending a final message to inform them of your departure might also be a good idea, though not everyone may see it.

**Taking a Break**
If you’re hesitant to fully commit to leaving, Facebook offers the option to temporarily deactivate your account. This can be done through the account center by clicking on the Personal details section, followed by the Account ownership and control option. Temporarily deactivating your account ensures that others can no longer see it, but your posts, photos, and videos will remain intact, and you can still use Facebook Messenger. Reactivation can be done at any time. However, it’s important to note that Instagram and Threads users are limited to one temporary deactivation per week.

**Permanent Deletion**
If you have decided to permanently delete your account, you’ll need to revisit the accounts center, access the Personal details section, and then the Account ownership and control section to initiate deletion. Once the deletion process begins, you will have a grace period of 30 days to reconsider your decision. During this time, logging back into your account allows you to cancel the deletion if you change your mind. After the 30-day window closes, all your account information will be irretrievably wiped, as per Facebook’s guidance.

Keep in mind that deleting a Threads account does not impact your Instagram account. However, deleting your Instagram account will also lead to the deletion of any linked Threads account due to the integration between the two platforms.

**WhatsApp’s Status**
Additionally, Meta owns WhatsApp, but the changes to content policies are not expected to affect this messaging application significantly. WhatsApp users can also export their chat history or request information about their channel settings. If you wish to discontinue using WhatsApp and switch to alternative messaging services like iMessage or Signal, this can readily be managed within the app’s settings. Deleting your WhatsApp account will result in the loss of your account details, chat history backup, and any admin roles you held in chat groups or channels.

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