Thursday, March 28

Five things you should do before deleting Facebook | Digital Trends Spanish


Saying it is easier than doing it. But assuming you have made the decision to end your relationship with Facebook once and for all, there are some preliminary steps that we recommend you take. And it is that although many of us would like to cut the ties at once, the platform crosses so many aspects of our lives that it is not always so simple. Therefore, these are the five things you should do before deleting Facebook.

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Although it is still the main social network in the world, a sustained drop in active users, an increasingly toxic environment and the overwhelming growth of other platforms, such as TikTok or Instagram (also from Meta) have led many to consider the possibility of leaving. definitely.

But before deleting your Facebook account, make sure you follow these steps.

Download your data

One of the first actions you should do before closing your Facebook account is to download your personal data from the moment you created your account or the period you want, including photos, videos, statuses, messages and anything you have done in the Facebook account. platform.

The process to request the information is very simple and you can do it from a computer or a smartphone. You just have to follow the following steps:

  • Sign in to Facebook.
  • Visit the section Your information.
  • Scroll to the bottom of the screen and press the button Download your information.
  • Select the data you want to download and the time period.
  • Once the file has been created, it will be available in the tab Available files from the section Download your information.

Facebook offers the option of receiving this information in HTML format, which allows easy reading, or in JSON format, which facilitates import through another service. Make the decision that suits you best depending on what you want to do with the data.

Close doors and windows

A teenage girl looks at her phone with a surprised face
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You most likely used Facebook to log in to other platforms, so if you close your account you will likely lose access to these services as well. To verify it, you must follow the following steps:

  • Sign in to Facebook.
  • press Settings and privacy and then Setting.
  • click on Security and login.
  • Choose Apps and websites.
  • Review the sites that are listed and make sure to create an alternative login.

Keep in touch with family and friends

It is likely that many of your contacts are not only on Facebook, but you also follow them on TikTok or Instagram or share groups on WhatsApp or Telegram.

However, there are a handful of friends and family that you only know about through Facebook. So before you delete your account, make sure you have their contact details. Even, it would not hurt to write down the date of their birthdays in an agenda.

organize your memories

While Facebook is a great tool for keeping your memories organized, once you’ve downloaded your data you can do the same on your own computer. Although you will receive the items organized in folders of photos and videos, taking the time to sort them by dates or places will allow you to be less dependent on the platform and review them when you deem it convenient.

Make sure to delete your account (and not deactivate it)

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You need to make sure that you are deleting your account and not just deactivating it. Although they may seem similar, they are tools with different purposes.

By deactivating your account, strictly what you are doing is giving yourself a break. Facebook stops sharing your content, but gives you the ability to come back whenever you want.

If you choose to delete your account instead, it’s an irreversible process that deletes all content you’ve ever uploaded to Facebook. If you are determined, we recommend you follow this guide where we explain the process step by step for you to complete it successfully.

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