How to Delete Your Instagram Account Permanently in 2021

While Instagram is the best place to enjoy videos of our favorite pets and celebrities, it can also get a little tiresome and potentially even addictive. In this guide, we’ll give you the steps you need to follow to delete your Instagram account permanently, but first, a short introduction.

What’s the Difference Between Deleting and Deactivating Your Instagram Account?

Instagram is well aware that their social network is addictive, so they give you the option to deactivate your account, which is kind of like a “soft delete.” This will turn off your account and render it inaccessible, but it won’t delete all of its information.

Many of us here at PinpointVPN have decided to delete out Instagram accounts because of the inherent privacy concerns involved in using many social media platforms. Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and most other social media networks exist to harvest user information and sell them to advertisers so that they can more effectively target you with their marketing materials.

If you ever decide that you want to return to Instagram, you’ll be able to reactivate your account with relative ease if you deactivate it. On the other hand, deleting your Instagram account will also delete all of the info that it has about you and any saved photos, meaning you’ll have to start from scratch.

For those who are considering leaving Instagram forever, permanent deletion is probably the best option available. If you think that you’ll want to come back to Instagram at some point in the future, you’ll want to only disable your account so that you can change your mind later on.

Here’s how you can both delete and deactivate your Instagram account:

How to Delete Your Instagram Account Permanently

One thing that you have to know is that you won’t be able to delete your Instagram account through the IG app. Instead, you’ll have to access the account deletion page through a desktop browser or through the mobile browser on your phone.

1 – Once on the account deletion page, you’ll have to log into Instagram using your username and your password.

2 – Using the dropdown menu, select a reason why you’re deleting your account. While this may not matter to you, Instagram uses it to improve their user retention.

3 – After that, you’ll be prompted to re-enter your password and then you can click the button to delete your account.

How to Deactivate Your Instagram Account

If you’ve decided that you’d rather take a temporary break from Instagram instead of permanently deleting your account, here’s what you can do to disable it instead.

1 – Log into Instagram on a mobile or desktop browser since you won’t be able to do this through the app.

2 – Once you’re logged in, click your image at the top right and head to the settings menu.

3 – On the settings menu, go to the “edit profile” tab and then head to the bottom, where you can click the “temporarily disable my account” button.

4 – As with deleting your account, you’ll be asked to enter your password and then click the blue button to confirm that you want to disable your account.

How Do I Reactivate My Instagram Account?

If you permanently delete your account, you’ll have up to a month to change your mind. To get your account back before everything is wiped, all you have to do is log back into Instagram before the date of your account deletion is reached. If you care about this, take note of the date that Instagram gives you when you delete your account.

Once you’ve been off of Instagram for more than 30 days, all of your information will be permanently deleted, so you won’t have the opportunity to get back on the app. If you’re worried that you’re going to regret deleting your Instagram account, you can back up all of your information to ensure that you still have your photos.

On the other hand, if you deactivate your Instagram account and then get cold feet, all you have to do is log into the app. Unlike with account deletion, you have an unlimited time in which you can enter your credentials on the login page and you’ll still be able to access everything related to your account.

We’d recommend getting your hands on a VPN like Ivacy or PureVPN before getting back on social media if you value your privacy.

Is There a Private Way to Access Instagram?

If you like the idea of sharing your pictures with the world but you don’t like the idea of your privacy being invaded by social media networks, there are a few ways that you can access Instagram more privately. One of the most popular methods is to use a VPN to ensure that your browsing can’t be easily tracked.

Have you ever gone to post something on Instagram and noticed that the app detected your location right away? That’s because Instagram tracks your location while the app is open, and sometimes even when it’s closed. It will also use the metadata from your photos to determine exactly where you were when you took a picture, even if you were disconnected from the internet.

However, you can ensure that Instagram knows a little bit less about you if you turn on a VPN before you start using it. This way, the only thing that Instagram knows about you is the information that you choose share with them instead of letting them grab as much info as your privacy settings let them.

Of course, this only makes browsing Instagram safer than it would be otherwise and it doesn’t completely ensure that you’re safe from their prying eyes. The only way to make sure that your info is completely secure when you use a social network like Instagram is by quitting it permanently.