How To Delete Instagram Account (The Proper Way)

In this guide, we’ll show you how to delete Instagram and how to temporarily delete your account – both methods are super-easy, just follow the steps below… 

Instagram is a wildly popular application with millions of active users sharing their photos, videos, and stories. Virtually everyone is on Instagram. However, as with all social media, there are those who might want to ditch Instagram after a time.

We’ve been enjoying an ever more connected and social media-based world for the last couple of decades now, and there are arguments that too much of it might not be a good thing.

Delete Instagram

If you’re looking to unplug, and Instagram is on your hitlist of services to disconnect from completely, this guide will show you how to sever the cord. Note that if you permanently delete your Instagram account via this method your profile, photos, videos, comments, likes, and followers will all be gone. For good.

There’s no coming back from this.

If you decide to go back on Instagram at a later date, you’ll be starting from scratch. You can’t sign up again with the same username or add that username to another account, and you can’t reactivate deleted accounts.

If that puts you off, consider that Instagram instead offers the option to temporarily disable your account. We’ll explain how to do that further down this post.

How To Delete Your Instagram Account (Properly)

In order to delete your Instagram account, you MUST log in to your account via a web browser – you CAN NOT delete it from inside the Instagram application on your phone or tablet.

1. While logged in to your Instagram Account on a web browser, go to the dedicated Delete Your Account webpage. If you’re not already logged in, you’ll be prompted to upon following that link.
2. From the drop-down menu next to “Why Are You Deleting Your Account?” select an option.
3. Re-enter your password when prompted to confirm your choice.
4. You will then see a button labeled “Permanently Delete My Account”. Click this to complete the account deletion.

Please note: this is a permanent deletion; you will not be able to recover your followers and posts once it is activated. This is basically the nuclear option, the one you do when you’re 100% sure that you no longer want to use the service.

If you’re slightly unsure about deleting your Instagram account, we’d recommend you use the temporary option below – this will put your account on hold but retain all your followers and posts. It’s not as drastic and could save you some upset should you change your mind after the fact.

How To Temporarily Disable Your Instagram Account

Instagram has an option to temporarily disable your account. When you do this your profile, photos, comments, and likes will be hidden. When you want to reactivate the account, simply log back in.

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Once again, this can only be done by logging into Instagram via a web browser. You can’t disable your account from inside the Instagram application on your phone or tablet.

1. In the top right of the screen is a shortcut to the profile screen, which looks like a little person’s head and shoulders. Select this and then select “Edit Profile”.
2. Scroll down the page. In the bottom right corner, you should see “Temporarily Disable My Account”. Select this.
3. You need to select an option from the drop-down menu next to “Why are you disabling your account?” and will be prompted to then re-enter your password as confirmation.
4. Once you’ve done this, the Temporarily Disable Account option will appear. Click it to complete the process.

Why I Deleted My Instagram Account

I used to really enjoy Instagram but during the course of the last couple of years, a couple of things have happened that made me want to use it less. The first major issue was that Facebook started spamming my timeline with sponsored and suggested posts – posts that I don’t want to see from accounts I am not interested in.

And the second reason was adverts: like Facebook, Instagram now just feels like a shameless adverting platform. Worse still, a lot of the ads on Instagram feel like scams and are of lower quality than what you get on editorial blogs and websites. It’s all very off-putting, basically.

I also felt like I was wasting far too much time on social media. I don’t use Twitter, I hate (and deleted) Facebook years ago, so getting rid of Instagram once and for all seemed like the smart thing to do. And it was. My screen time dropped significantly during the first few days and stayed down from then on.

Before, I was habitually checking my phone every five minutes. Now, with a phone free of any social media apps, I now check my phone maybe once an hour – if that. I’m not completely disconnected from social media, however, I still use Reddit. But that site is far more informational and useful than Instagram and Facebook.

Do I miss Instagram? Not at all. I don’t miss the adverts, the constant self-promotion of influencers, the narcissism, or letting Mark Zuckerberg’s Meta company track and snoop on my likes and interests. I use my phone less now. My life feels more private. And I no longer get bombarded with annoying ads online that resulted from me clicking on something in my Instagram feed.

And check out How To Set Time Limits On Instagram. And check out How To View Your Netflix History (And Hide It).

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Michael Grothaus

Apple expert and novelist, Michael Grothaus has been covering tech on KnowYourMobile for the best part of 10 years. Prior to this, he worked at Apple. And before that, he was a film journalist. Michael is a published author; his book Epiphany Jones was voted as one of the best novels about Hollywood by Entertainment Weekly. Michael is also a writer at other publications including VICE and Fast Company.