Step-By-Step Guide On How To Delete Instagram Account Permanently (2025 Updated)

Instagram is one of the most widely used social networking sites for sharing photos and videos. It has become a vital part of the lives of thousands of users. As of the time this blog article was written, there were 2 billion monthly active users on Instagram worldwide. But even with all of the benefits it offers for interacting with friends and discovering new information, there may come a point when you want to stop using social media.

Believe it or not, it can be mentally exhausting to always feel compelled to capture every moment on social media, compare your life with other people’s feeds, and constantly get caught up on the likes and engagement others get. To be honest, the expectation to be always active and sharing updates without guilt takes a toll on well-being. Hence, temporarily taking a break from Instagram makes perfect sense to prioritize living on your terms without the need for constant validation and comparison.

So, if you are genuinely fed up with all the negative impact Instagram is causing on your mental health, consider following the step-by-step instructions shared below to delete your Instagram account permanently in 2025.

Reasons to Permanently Deactivate Your Instagram Account

So, before diving into the technical nitty-gritty, let’s start exploring other reasons why you might want to deactivate or delete your Instagram account.

Privacy Concerns

Well, besides the factor that excessive social media usage can take a toll on one’s mental health, privacy has become one of the most common reasons why people may want to halt their social media activities. With the rise in data breaches, ad bombardment, and a large amount of personal information being shared online, people prefer to ditch social media.

Distraction

Admit it or not, but social media is a major time sink. There’s a high probability that you may always find yourself spending hours in doomscrolling. Hence, if you’re considering engaging yourself in productive activities, consider taking a break from Instagram. This way, you will be able to reclaim valuable time for yourself and focus on your real life rather than reel life.

Maintaining Priorities

Well, there’s no doubt that one’s interests and preferences evolve. Perhaps, Instagram no longer aligns with your current goals and lifestyle. Hence, you might consider deleting the unwanted social media applications from your device and focus on some other places that better suit your needs.

You might be interested in reading: How to Fix Instagram Reels Not Working (10 Methods)

Step-by-step Guide On How To Deactivate IG Account Permanently

Now that you know all the merits and demerits, here’s how you can permanently remove your IG account forever on both smartphones and desktop devices.

STEP 1: Keep a Backup Of Your Instagram Data

Though this step is optional, there are chances that you may want to download and keep a copy of your Instagram data. This includes all your shared photos, videos, comments, and profile information. If you are interested in the same, consider following the steps shared below:

• Begin by, logging into your Instagram account using you’re your favourite web browser.
• Go to the profile settings and pick the “Privacy and Security” option.
• After selecting this option, scroll down and hit the option “Data Download”, followed by clicking the “Request Download” button.

• At this point, you need to enter your email address where you want to have your Instagram data to be shared.
• Now, simply download the Instagram password and confirm the process by clicking the “Request Download” button.
• You will get an email with a dedicated link to download your IG data.

That’s it! This way, you can have all your crucial Insta data saved with you. Next, you can proceed with the deactivation process!

STEP 2: To proceed with permanently removing your Instagram account, follow the upcoming steps:

If you are using a desktop to delete your IG account, this is what you need to do:

• Launch your preferred web browser on your device and log in to your Instagram account.
• Click on this link and you will be navigated to the “Delete Your Account” page.
• At this point, you need to select the reason for deleting your account. Instagram suggests options like “Created a second account”, “Trouble getting started”, “Privacy concerns”, “Want to remove something”, “Too busy/too distracting”, “Can’t find people to follow”, “Concerned about my data”, “Too many ads”, and “Something else”.

• Once you have selected your preferred reason, you need to enter your Instagram password again to proceed further.
• To finish the procedure, select “Permanently delete my account”!

Once the process is completed, your Instagram account will be deleted forever. But keep in mind, that Insta may take up to 90 days to fully remove all of your data from its official servers.

You might be interested in reading: 10 Best Instagram Photo Editors

If you are using a Smartphone to delete your IG account, this is what you need to do:

• Launch the Instagram application and make sure you’re logged into the account you wish to delete for always.
• Head towards to your profile by hitting the profile picture in the bottom right corner of the screen.
• Hit the hamburger menu icon (the three horizontal lines) located at the top right corner of the screen.
• From the menu that displays, select the Settings option.
• Select “Account Center” by swiping down.

• Under the “Personal Details” header, you need to find and choose the “Account ownership and control” option.
• At this step, just locate and tap the “Deactivation or deletion”.

• Just select the “Delete Account” option and confirm the process by hitting the “Continue” button.
• Similar to the aforementioned process, at this point you are required to choose a dedicated reason for deleting your account.

• Upon the selection of reason, now you need to re-enter your Instagram password for verification purposes.
• Hit the “Delete Account” button to permanently remove your IG account forever.

What Happens When You Delete Your Instagram Account?

So, when you decide to permanently delete your Instagram account, several things will happen:

1. Once you click on the “Permanently delete my account” button on Instagram, you will no longer be able to log in to your Insta account.
2. Your entire Instagram presence will disappear, including all your photos, videos, comments, likes, and followers will be completely removed.
3. For the first 30 days after hitting the “Permanently delete my account” button, your Insta account remains deactivated. So, if anytime you change your mind, you can still log back into your Insta account to cancel the deletion process.
4. Your old Instagram username will become available for other users. Additionally, you can only use the same email address to create a new account after 30 days only.

What Are The Alternatives To Deleting Your Instagram Account?

If you are still not sure about deleting your IG account permanently, you can consider disabling it for a temporary time. This way, your profile will be hidden until you reactivate your account by logging back in.

METHOD 1: Consider Disabling Your Insta Account Temporarily

STEP 1: Log in to your Instagram using your favourite web browser.

STEP 2: Head towards your profile and hit the “Edit Profile” button.

STEP 3: At this point, you need to scroll down and click on “Temporarily disable my account”.

STEP 4: Now select the reason to temporarily disable your account and re-enter your Insta password.

STEP 5: To confirm the process, click on the “Temporarily Disable Account” option!

Must Read: How to Set up Instagram Parental Controls: Protect Your Kids

METHOD 2: Consider Adjusting Your Privacy Settings

If your main reason for deactivating your Instagram account permanently was privacy, then you may consider changing your privacy settings instead. You can simply make your Instagram account private control who can see your posts, and even limit the people who can contact you on the platform.

How to make your Instagram account private?

Follow the instructions shared below to make your Insta profile private.

STEP 1: Open the Instagram app on your mobile device.

STEP 2: Tap the profile icon and navigate to the Settings menu.

STEP 3: Head towards the Privacy section and go to the Account Privacy module.

STEP 4: Now simply toggle off the switch next to the Private Account. This will make your Instagram account private.

A prompt will appear asking you to confirm the process. Proceed with your action!

How Can You Manage Who Can View Your Instagram Posts?

Follow the instructions shared below to manage who can see your Insta posts, so that it is only shared with people whom you have chosen to see.

STEP 1: Open the Instagram app on your mobile device.

STEP 2: Tap the profile icon and navigate to the Settings menu.

STEP 3: Now locate the Followers list option, review the users and remove any that you do not want to have access to your posts. Hit the Remove button next to the follower’s name to remove them.

STEP 4:To control story visibility, navigate to the Privacy menu again and tap on the Story option.

STEP 5: At this point, you can tap the Hide Story From and select the users from the Followers you want to hide your stories from.

Alternatively, you can use the Close Friends list option to share your stories only with a selected bunch of people.

How Can I Restrict Who Can Message Me on Instagram?

Fortunately, Instagram respects user privacy and provides tons of options to control who can contact you through direct messages and other mediums. Here’s how you can manage these settings on Insta:

STEP 1: Open the Instagram app on your mobile device.

STEP 2: Tap the profile icon and navigate to the Settings menu.

STEP 3: Head towards the Privacy section and go to the Messages module.

STEP 4: Now at this point, you can choose who can send you message requests. Select from Everyone, People You Follow, or Your Followers.

STEP 5: Besides Messages, you can also tap on the Blocked Accounts option. Here, you can tap the “Add” button to add the username of the person you wish to block. This way, you can completely prevent those people from contacting you on Instagram.

STEP 6: Alternatively, you can consider restricting accounts as well. This means, that though their comments won’t show up until you accept them, restricted accounts can still leave comments on your posts. You cannot tell when you are active or whether you have viewed direct messages from restricted accounts.

My Take

Well, being a TechCommuters writer who frequently covers topics related to cybersecurity, social media, digital well-being and more, I truly believe that deleting your Instagram account permanently is a solid way to take control of your digital life. Although social networking platforms do contribute to the value in terms of staying connected, sharing experiences, and discovering new information, it can also be overwhelming when it comes to mental health.

Hence, by removing your IG account forever you’re not only securing your online privacy but also reducing your digital footprint. At last, remember that there is no one-size-fits-all approach to social media use and that what suits one user may not suit another. Follow your gut and make the decision that feels right for you.

If you want us to cover more such articles, feel free to drop a line in the comments section below.

YOU MIGHT WANT TO READ THE FOLLOWING ARTICLES: