How to Delete FB: Your Profile, a Page, a Group or Just the App
updated 11 July 2026
Quick answer
First work out what you actually want to delete, because Facebook treats each thing differently. You delete a personal account in Accounts Center, a page in its settings with an admin role, and a group by removing all of its members. Just uninstalling the app from your phone deletes nothing.
Step by step
- 1
Work out what you really want to delete
Facebook is a personal account, plus pages, groups and the app on your phone. Each one is deleted differently, and some actions can't be undone. Before you click anything, decide whether you mean your whole profile, a single page, a group, or just getting the app off your screen.
- 2
Deleting your personal profile
Go to Settings & privacy → Settings, then open Accounts Center. In the section covering personal details and account ownership and control you'll find the option to deactivate or permanently delete. The panel looks the same in a browser and in the phone app, so the steps are identical. Permanent deletion means losing your photos and messages once the grace period for reversing the decision runs out.
- 3
Deactivation instead of deletion
If you only want to disappear for a while, choose deactivation instead of deletion. Your profile stops being visible, but your data waits and comes back when you log in again. It's a good choice when you're not sure you're leaving Facebook for good.
- 4
Deleting a Facebook page
Only someone with the admin role can delete a page. Go into that page's settings and look for the section on deactivating and deleting it. Facebook usually gives you a grace period to change your mind before the page disappears along with its followers and posts.
- 5
Deleting a group
You can't wipe out a group with a single button. As an admin you have to remove all the members or wait until they leave on their own, then leave the group yourself at the end. Once the last person is gone, Facebook deletes the group automatically.
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The app alone is not the same as your account
Holding the icon and uninstalling the Facebook app only removes it from your phone; your account, photos and posts stay on the servers. To really disappear from Facebook, you have to go through account deletion in the settings, not just delete the app.
Deactivation or permanent deletion
These are two different things that are easy to mix up. Deactivation hides your profile but keeps everything in the background, so you come back after logging in again and get your friends and photos back. Messenger can keep working in the meantime, so people close to you can still message you even though your profile is gone.
Permanent deletion wipes the account for good after a grace period during which you can still cancel the decision. Before you confirm, download a copy of your Facebook data: photos, videos and messages. Once the process finishes, none of it comes back.
Before you delete your account for good
Check whether you use Facebook to log in to other services. Shops, games and apps where you use the Log in with Facebook button will lose access along with the account, so set separate passwords in them before you disappear.
If you manage a business page, add a second admin to it, because a page tied solely to your account can vanish along with it. You'll find a full walkthrough of the deletion itself in our separate guide on deleting a Facebook account.
Deleting individual content instead of the whole account
Sometimes it's not about wiping all of Facebook, just getting rid of a few posts or photos. Every post has a three-dot menu in the corner with an option to delete it or move it to trash. The trash keeps content for a while, so you have a moment to undo an accidental deletion.
For bulk cleanups use the activity log, available from your profile. It lists all your likes, comments and posts, lets you filter by date and delete them in batches. That's more convenient than scrolling your timeline when you want to clear out old posts but stay on Facebook.
Frequently asked questions
›How do I permanently delete my FB profile?
Go to Settings & privacy → Settings → Accounts Center and in the account ownership section choose permanent deletion. The account disappears after a grace period during which you can still cancel the decision. Download a copy of your photos and messages first.
›How do I delete an FB page I'm an admin of?
Open the page's settings and find the section on deactivating and deleting it. The option is only available to the admin role. After you confirm, the page disappears after a grace period along with its followers.
›How do I remove my FB account from my phone without deleting it completely?
Hold the app icon and choose Uninstall, or simply log out in the app's settings. Your account stays untouched on Facebook's servers; you're only removing access from that phone.
›Can a deleted Facebook account be recovered?
It depends on the stage. During the grace period after requesting deletion you can cancel it by logging in again and confirming you want to stay. Once that time is up, the account and data are gone for good and can't be restored, so download a copy of your data beforehand.
›How do I delete a Facebook group?
As an admin, remove all the members one by one or wait until they leave, then leave the group yourself at the end. Facebook deletes the group automatically once it has no members left. In large groups it's faster to turn off posting and archive the group than to remove people by hand.