With recent headlines about Facebook, including that the phone numbers and other personal data of 553 million Facebook users have been leaked online, the #DeleteFacebook once again is trending online.

But for many of us, deleting our presence from a social network that opened us to an entire world of friendships, communications, and information feels almost impossible. <hl>Well, it’s not, and we’re here to help you delete your data from Facebook and other online services.<hl>

Not just Facebook: Don’t be part of the next data leak.

The best way to minimize digital risks is to keep your data only where you need it. With Mine, you can discover which companies are holding your personal data and exercise your data rights by deleting it from services you no longer use.

On to the steps: Here’s how to manually delete your Facebook account

1. Open your Facebook account
2. Click the “Account” tab marked by an arrow
3. Click “Settings & Privacy”
4. Select “Settings”
5. In the side menu, click “Your Facebook Information”
6. Choose “Deactivation and Deletion”
7. Click “Permanently Delete Account”
8. Now click “Continue to Account Deletion”
9. Click “Delete Account”
10. Confirm the process by entering your Facebook password
11. Click “Continue”

Some of the most common reasons for deleting Facebook

In 2018 and following the Cambridge Analytica scandal, surveys found that 1 in 10 Americans was looking to delete their Facebook account, and 54% of users have considered deleting their Facebook profile. Here are some of the reasons that people consider deleting their Facebook account:

• Public discussions about the digital risks of Facebook’s data usage: Controversies involving the social network cause users to delete their Facebook account. Including the recent headlines about WhatsApp’s privacy policy and movies like Netflix’s The Social Dilemma also influence people to want to delete their Facebook profiles.

• The social circle is just too big: With around 2.8 billion monthly active users, Facebook is considered the world’s largest social network. You may feel that the number of people who can reach out to you on Facebook is becoming a burden and search for other, more personal alternatives.

• An older crowd: Younger generations often consider Facebook a network for older users and only 10% of teens define it as their go-to platform.

• Biased information: Studies found that Facebook creates echo chambers with information we already agree with. This could be another reason for deleting your account.

A few things worth noting

1. Facebook owns Instagram and WhatsApp, and by using these apps, you will still be sharing information with the company on some level. If you want to conduct a full Facebook data audit, you may have to consider these apps as well. You also can’t prevent others from sharing photos of you or other information on Facebook. You can find all the companies that hold your personal data through Mine.
2. After permanently deleting your account, you can’t reactivate it. There’s a grace period of 30 days, and it may take facebook around 90 days to complete the process. After that, your account will be gone.

Take control of your data online by deleting your data from other services you no longer need. Visit <nofollow>your Mine account<nofollow> to learn which companies have access to your data and take action.