How to deactivate Instagram account

After hearing so much about it from all your friends, you finally decided to subscribe to Instagram: however, once the initial euphoria passed, you began to use this social network less and less and now, aware that this platform is not for you, you would like learn more about the possibilities you have available to disable your account

If things are actually this way and if, therefore, you are wondering how to deactivate Instagram account, don’t worry: you have come to the right place, indeed on the right guide! In the next chapters, in fact, I will explain to you everything that needs to be done to succeed in this intent. I will first explain how to take a break from the social network in question, temporarily suspending your account, and then how to “say goodbye” definitively, by closing your profile altogether.

If, therefore, you can’t wait to deepen the question and discover all the steps to take, keep reading: you will find everything explained below. I wish you a good read and I wish you a big good luck for everything!

Index

• Preliminary information
• How to disable Instagram account temporarily
• How to deactivate Instagram account permanently
• Alternative solutions

Preliminary information

Before explaining in detail how to deactivate Instagram accounts, I must give you some important preliminary information about it.

You must know, in fact, that there is more than one option to limit one’s presence on the famous photographic social network: the first, as already mentioned in the opening bars of the post, provides for the temporary deactivation of the profile; the second, on the other hand, allows you to hide the photos from all people except those who authorize themselves to view the profile; finally, the third, the more drastic one, provides for the definitive cancellation of the account.

Which solution is best suited to your case is entirely up to you to choose it; however you must take into account that the temporary or permanent deactivation of the Instagram account can only be performed from a browser, acting through the official website of the social network. Therefore, if you wonder how to disable Instagram account from app, I’m sorry to tell you that you can’t. You have to act from a web browser, which then is from a PC or smartphone/tablet makes no difference: the steps to be taken are always the same.

Furthermore, in case you want to opt for a permanent deactivation, I advise you in advance to make a backup of all the contents you have uploaded to Instagram, in order to have a local copy of them.

To do this, start the Instagram app for Android or iOS, press the little man icon, in order to go to your profile screen; then, reach the section Settings> Security> Download data, by pressing on the relevant menu items. Finally, type the email address where you want to obtain a copy of the data and press the Request download button, in order to receive the link for downloading the archive (the generation of the aforementioned link may also take a few hours or a few day).

You can also do this from your PC, from the Instagram site; in this case, log in to your account and click on the little man icon located at the top right. At this point, go to Settings> Privacy and security and press the Request Download button.

Once this is done, press the Next button, type the password of your Instagram account and click the Request download button to start creating the archive with all your data. This could take anywhere from a few minutes to several days, depending on the amount of data to be processed.

As an alternative to the download function offered by Instagram, you can take advantage of programs or applications that allow you to mass-download all the photos on an Instagram profile, such as 4K Stogram, a free software for Windows and macOS that I told you about in more depth in my guide on how to save photos from Instagram.

How to disable Instagram account temporarily

To temporarily deactivate the Instagram account, you must act from the social network’s website, using a browser for online browsing: the procedures, therefore, are the same, regardless of whether you decide to act from a computer or smartphone/tablet. Be aware, however, that the procedure in question can only be done once a week.

To start, then, connected to the official Instagram site, and log in to your account (if required). Now, click on the icon of the little man, to go to your profile screen, press the Edit profile button, scroll the page that is shown to you and, finally, click on the item Temporarily disable my account.

At this point, specify the reason behind your choice, using the drop-down menu located next to the item Why are you deactivating your account? Then fill in the text field located next to the item To continue, enter the password again, typing the password for your Instagram account and, finally, presses the button Temporarily disable the account.

After these steps, your Instagram account will be temporarily deactivated: consequently your photos, your comments and all your “likes” will be hidden until the account is reactivated.

Subsequently, in order to restore your Instagram account again, all you have to do is log in again from the app or browser: the temporary deactivation procedure will in fact be canceled and you can immediately start using your profile again just as you did until before the Suspension.

In case of doubts or problems, read my guide dedicated more specifically to the topic.

How to deactivate Instagram account permanently

Is it your intention to deactivate the Instagram account permanently? Also in this case you must proceed from a web browser, by connecting to a specific section of the well-known photographic social network, which cannot be reached via the smartphone app.

Therefore, regardless of whether you are using a browser for browsing from a computer or from a smartphone/tablet, click here to immediately connect to the Instagram web page to delete the profile and, if requested, log in to your account typing username and password.

On the Web page that will be shown to you at this point, press the drop-down menu located next to the item Why do you want to delete [your account name]? and select one of the available options, in order to explain to the Instagram team the reasons behind your choice to delete the account. Finally, type in your account password and click the Delete [your account name] button.

Once the procedure in question has been completed, your Instagram account will be permanently deleted and it will no longer be possible to reactivate the profile: to use the social network again, in fact, you will have to make a new registration.

In case of doubts or problems, read my guide dedicated more specifically to the topic.

Alternative solutions

Alternatively, if you don’t want to deactivate your Instagram account but just want to hide your photos from people you don’t know, you can set your profile as private. By doing so, in fact, excluding your current followers – who will continue to be able to see your content – no Instagram user will be able to view the photos and videos you post, without your explicit authorization.

To set your account as a private account, start the Instagram app on your smartphone and go to the Settings> Privacy menu. Finally, move the lever relating to the Private account option to ON and confirm the operation by pressing on the item Switch to private mode.

To proceed from the Web, instead, go to the Settings> Privacy and security section of the official Instagram site and check the Private account item.

Once you have set up your Instagram account as private, in order for other people to see the content you post, you will need to approve the requests of those who wish to become your followers.

In case of second thoughts, to make your profile public again, go back to the Instagram privacy settings menu and move the lever relating to the Private account option back to OFF (or disable the checkmark on the appropriate item, from the Web) , confirming that you want to change the privacy and switch to public mode.

For more information on this, refer to my more specific tutorial on the subject