How can I delete my Facebook account?

http://www.theguardian.com/technology/askjack/2015/may/01/how-can-i-delete-my-facebook-account

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Could you please explain how one erases one’s profile from Facebook? I find the posts trivial and boring and don’t have much time to go into it. Ursula

Facebook has a help page: How do I permanently delete my account? This advises you to download a copy of your Facebook data, because you will lose it if you do delete your account. You can also do this by logging into Facebook, clicking the down arrow, and selecting Settings. Click the bottom entry that says “Download a copy of your Facebook data”.

If you really, really want to delete your Facebook account, log on, go to the Delete my account page and click the button that says “Delete my account”. After that, no one will be able to see your Facebook info, though it may take a few months for your posts and photos to be removed from Facebook’s servers. However, note that any messages or emails you have sent to other people will not be removed. These are in the recipients’ accounts, not in yours.

The safer option is to deactivate your account. To do this, go back to the Settings menu and click Security in the menu on the left. This will bring up the Security Settings page. Click on the text at the bottom, where it says “Deactivate your account”. (My links should take you straight to these options.)

Deactivating your account will remove your profile and most other information. However, you will be able to reactivate your account by logging on again.

Before deactivating or deleting your account, remember you can block people and apps you don’t like. You could also consider using a utility that provides more control over what you see in Facebook. For example, Matt Kruse’s Social Fixer would enable you to hide posts by keyword, author, application and so on. (It’s more polite to hide people than to unfriend them.) It can also hide trending articles, trending videos and the ticker feed.

Social Fixer has another important function for users with less-than-perfect eyesight: you can make Facebook’s text larger.

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