How to Delete All Facebook Data

It’s no secret that your Facebook account gathers a lot of information about you. Even when you deactivate your account temporarily, it’s still there. Sadly, there’s no way to keep an account and delete all the data, but you can bulk-delete posts, activities, and more.

In this article, you’ll learn how to delete your Facebook account and learn how to bulk-delete posts, activities, tags, interactions, post archives, search history, watched video history, and voice interactions. What you can’t bulk-delete is profile information, Groups, Communities, Events, Reels, and friend request activities. Both lists are non-exhaustive, meaning there may be more to each one.

How to Completely Delete Your Facebook Account

Deleting your Facebook account is the only true way to completely delete everything from your profile. However, Facebook still holds onto some log data from your account. Regardless, you and every other Facebook user cannot see anything related to your profile anymore. Another thing to consider is if you had other accounts associated with Facebook, such as Pinterest, Spotify, Instagram, etc. You’d have to contact those third-party apps to regain access. In that case, you may want to delete data manually as much as you can—more on that process later.

Here’s how to permanently delete your Facebook account.

1. On Facebook, click on your profile picture in the top-right section, then choose Settings & Privacy.
   
2. Click on Settings.
   
3. Select Your Facebook Information on the left.
   
4. Choose Deactivation and Deletion.
   
5. Click on Delete Account, then select Continue to Account Deletion.
   
6. Click on Delete Account once more, then type your password and select Continue.
   

You have up to 30 days from the deletion request to log back in and reactivate your Facebook account. After that, it is gone forever. It can take Facebook up to 90 days to delete everything from your account, but nobody can see it.

How to Bulk-Delete Facebook Posts, Likes, and Other Data

If you want to keep your account intact but don’t want to deactivate it, there’s the option of manually deleting information. This way, you can choose what posts to keep online and which ones will be deleted forever.

How to Bulk-Delete Your Posts on Facebook

This option deletes all posts, whether they include comments or photos/images.

1. Log into your Facebook account.
   
2. Go to your profile.
   
3. Click on the horizontal ellipsis (triple dots) on the right side.
   
4. From the drop-down menu, select Activity Log.
   
5. Click on Your Posts in the left Activity Log Filters section, then click the All checkbox at the top. This action selects everything listed under the main category (Text updates, check-ins, notes, and more, Photos and videos, and Posts from other apps).
   
6. When checking off the All box above, it displays “All” rather than a number to the right, showing you how many entries you selected. To increase that number, you can scroll down and let Facebook load more entries, then check off the All box once more.
7. Select Trash from the menu to delete all selected data in the Your posts category and all subcategories.
   

Note: When bulk-deleting the subcategory titled “Photos and videos” in this “Your Posts” category, it includes shared images and your posted images. However, your Photos and Albums section may still contain other photos and images that require individual deletion.

How to Bulk-Delete Your Tags on Facebook

1. Log into your Facebook account.
   
2. Go to your profile.
   
3. Click on the triple dots on the right side.
   
4. From the drop-down menu, select Activity Log.
   
5. Select Activity You’re Tagged In on the left side, then click the All checkbox at the top. This action selects everything listed under the main category (Posts and comments you’re tagged in and Photos you’re tagged in).
6. When checking off the All box above, it displays “All” rather than a number to the right, showing you how many entries are selected. To increase that number, you can scroll down and let Facebook load more entries, then check off the All box once more.
7. Select Trash from the menu to delete all selected data in the category and subcategories.

How to Bulk-Delete Your Interactions (Comments, Likes, & More) on Facebook

1. Log into your Facebook account.
   
2. Go to your profile.
   
3. Click on the triple dots on the right side.
   
4. From the drop-down menu, select Activity Log.
   
5. Select Interactions on the left side, then click the All checkbox at the top. This action selects everything listed under the main category (Comments, Likes and reactions, Others’ posts to your timeline, Your posts on others’ timelines, Archived stories, and more).
6. When checking off the All box above, it displays “All” rather than a number to the right, showing how many entries are selected. To increase that number, you can scroll down and let Facebook load more entries, then check off the All box once more.
7. Select Trash from the menu to delete all selected data in the Interactions category and all subcategories.

How to Bulk-Delete Your Archives on Facebook

1. Log into your Facebook account.
   
2. Go to your profile.
   
3. Click on the triple dots on the right side.
   
4. From the drop-down menu, select Activity Log.
   
5. Select Archive on the left side, then click the All checkbox at the top. This action selects the subcategory titled Posts archive. It does not include the Story archive subcategory since that is only visible to you.
6. When checking off the All box above, it displays “all” rather than a number to the right, showing how many entries are selected. To increase that number, you can scroll down and let Facebook load more entries, then check off the All box again.
7. Select Trash from the menu to delete all selected data in the Archive category and Posts archive subcategory.

How to Manually Delete Your Photos and Albums on Facebook

Manually deleting photos and albums might seem slow, but it’s the fastest method Facebook offers at the moment. You cannot bulk-delete your Photos and Albums. However, as mentioned above, you can mass-delete some of them that fall under the Your Posts category and Photos and videos subcategory.

If you want to wipe your profile of all photos, there’s a way to do this. You can delete albums, as they all contain your photos. This way, you’ll have a squeaky-clean profile once more.

The steps for deleting photos are as follows:

1. Log into Facebook.
   
2. Go to your profile by clicking your profile picture on the top bar.
   
3. Locate your photos.
   
4. Go to the Albums tab.
   
5. Click on the triple dots icon in the album thumbnail’s top-right section.
   
6. Select Delete album.
   
7. Repeat until you delete all albums except Profile Pictures and Cover Pictures.

For these two, you’ll have to delete them manually and individually. This is done by going into the albums and locating the option to delete each photo. It’ll be found within the pen icon.

Facebook Data Deletion FAQs

How can I save my Facebook data first?

To save your Facebook data, you need to go to the settings and then find the option to download your information. The process can take a long time, but eventually, you’ll be able to access it all from your PC. The steps can be found above.

What data does Facebook collect?

Here’s a list of some of the information Facebook collects about you.

· IP addresses

Yes, Facebook collects your IP addresses, from your home address to the free Wi-Fi you used during your vacation in Japan. All of it is as clear as day to anyone who can find it, though normal users can’t. However, the staff and malicious hackers can always access your IP addresses.

· The advertisements that caught your eye

If you click on an advertisement that stood out, Facebook will take note of it and recommend similar ones. This is done to “improve” the app experience but can also be used to build a profile of you if someone had the information.

· Political preferences

If you click on political advertisements often enough, the app will also recommend content based on your political views. In addition, placing that on your “About Me” section is another way Facebook tracks you.

· Your actions

Facebook tracks every move you make, including your likes, search history, and changes to your profile. All of that is part of the history you can find on your profile too.

· Financial data

If you use Facebook to buy and sell, the company will obviously have your credit card information in the records. Even donations aren’t immune, and you might talk about your finances on Facebook too. All that goes into the digital docket about you.

· Your device data

This includes the browser, phone type, operating system, and so much more. While this information can help Facebook improve the platform, people with malicious intentions can always steal the data and harm you with it.

How can I just stop Facebook from collecting data?

One easy way is to turn off tracking your Off-Facebook activity. Here’s how:

1. Log into Facebook.

2. Go to the Settings menu.

3. Select Your Facebook Information.

4. Choose Off-Facebook Activity.

5. Select Manage Off-Facebook Activity.

6. Clear your history.

7. Select Manage Future Activity and toggle the option off.

This isn’t a complete fix, but it can prevent targeted advertisements better. You won’t be searching for shoes on Chrome and then suddenly see corresponding advertisements on your timeline.

What Does Facebook Do With Your Data?

Facebook has been known to use your data to:

• Recommend events around you by tracking

• Target advertisements according to your interests

• Recommend friends

• Share it with other companies.

• Build a digital profile based on your provided information

And there are many other ways Facebook uses the data it collected. These are just the most obvious ways that you should be aware of.