Having too many digital online accounts raises your risk of data being misused or stolen. Deleting online accounts is one of the best ways to protect your data security and privacy. The less data you have stored on corporate databases scattered across the internet, the safer you are from the misuse of personal information.
How Do I Backup Data and Delete Popular Online Accounts
Deleting online accounts for the most popular services is usually straightforward and it will also delete all personal data unless you save your data before deleting the account. Follow the steps in this article to backup and delete your online account for 15 popular services including Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and other social media platforms.
Content Summary
Blogger
Facebook
Flickr
Foursquare
Google+
Instagram
LinkedIn
Livejournal
Myspace
Pinterest
Snapchat
Tumblr
Twitter
Whatsapp
YouTube
Source
Blogger
Backup Blogger Data: On your blog’s primary page, click on Settings > Other > Back Up Content button to create archive in XML format.
Delete Blogger account: Click the down arrow in the top left > Select the blog you want to delete > Settings > Other > Delete blog. You’ll have 90 days to change your mind, but you can expedite the process by clicking Permanently Delete.
Backup Facebook Data: Click on the drop-down arrow in Facebook’s upper-right corner and select Settings > Your Facebook information > Download Your Information to begin the backup process. You’ll be able to customize what data you want to save and the quality media files.
Delete Facebook account: Click the down arrow in the top right > Settings > Your Facebook Information > Delete Your Account and Information > Delete Account > Type in your password to confirm > Delete Account. The platform says it won’t actually start the process until 30 days after you click delete, and it may take up to 90 days for your information to disappear.
Flickr
Backup Flickr Data: Click on the download icon to download photos or albums. To download everything in Flickr account, visit Account Settings page > Request My Flickr Data to begin the download process.
Delete Flickr account: Click your profile avatar in the top right corner > Settings > Delete your Flickr account > OK – Next > Check the box to confirm you understand that all your data will be deleted > Delete My Account.
Foursquare
Backup Foursquare Data: Pulling data via Foursquare API.
Card
Delete Foursquare account: Click the down arrow in the top right > Settings > Privacy Settings > Delete your account > Delete account > Enter your password > Confirm.
Google+
Backup Google+ Data: Visit Google’s Download Your Data page to get started.
Delete Google+ account: Click Settings on the left hand side of the screen > Delete Your Google+ Profile > Enter your password to confirm > Check the box to confirm that you understand this will permanently erase your data > Delete.
Backup Instagram Data: On the web, click on the icon that looks like a person to go to your Instagram profile. Then, click on the gear icon and select Privacy & Security > Data Download > Request download option to get started.
Delete Instagram account: Navigate to Delete Your Account page > Choose a reason why you’re deleting your account > Enter your password > Permanently delete my account.
Backup LinkedIn Data: Visit Settings & Privacy page > How LinkedIn uses your data > Download your data option to get started.
Delete LinkedIn account: Click your profile avatar in the top right corner > Settings and privacy > Account > Closing your Linkedin account > Select a reason why you’re deciding to close your account and click Next > Type in your password to confirm.
Livejournal
Backup Livejournal Data: Use Livejournal’s export tool to download one month’s worth of posts at a time, or you can use one of the many other third-party apps to download all journal’s contents at once.
Delete Livejournal account: Open the menu in the top right by clicking on your user name > Settings > Account > Under Status, click Change > Check the boxes for Delete all my comments and Delete all community entries > Change status to Deleted from the drop-down menu > Submit. Your information won’t be deleted for a full year, in accordance with Russian law.
Myspace
Backup Myspace Data: Myspace does have a tool for downloading any videos or music you’ve uploaded.
Delete Myspace account: Click the gear icon in the bottom left > Account > Delete Account.
Backup Pinterest Data: Use a third-party app like Pin4Ever or PinCrawl to download your data from Pinterest.
Delete Pinterest account: Click the icon with the triple-dot in the upper right corner > Edit settings > Deactivate Account > Permanently close my account > Yes, send the email > Head to your email to find a confirmation message > In the confirmation email, click Yes, close account.You’ll need to wait 14 days before your account is actually deleted.
Snapchat
Backup Snapchat Data: Visit Manage My Account page > My Data to request an archive.
Delete Snapshat account: Go to Delete Your Account portal in a browser > Enter your username and password > Continue. You’ll need to wait 30 days before the account disappears.
Tumblr
Backup Tumblr Data: Visit Account Settings page, click on your blog on the right sidebar, and scroll to the bottom until you see Export button.
Delete Tumblr account: Log in to Tumblr > click the person-shaped icon in the top right and choose Settings > Delete account > Enter your email address and password to confirm > Delete everything. Note that the process won’t delete content that was reposted by other accounts.
Backup Twitter Data: Visit Account page > Request your archive button.
Delete Twitter account: Click your profile avatar and select Settings and privacy from the menu > Account tab > Deactivate your account > Deactivate > Enter your password to confirm > Deactivate. You’ll have to wait 30 days for the data to disappear.
More about How to Delete Your Twitter Account.
Backup Whatsapp Data: Request a copy of your Whatsapp data via the app’s Settings menu. In order to download the Whatsapp messages, go to Chats section of Settings menu, which should give you the option to backup your conversations.
Delete Whatsapp account: Click the menu button in the top right corner > Settings > Account > Delete my account > Enter your phone number to confirm > Delete my account.
YouTube
Backup YouTube Data: Visit Google’s Takeout page to download your YouTube data.
Delete YouTube channel: Click your person-shaped logo in the top right corner > Settings > Advanced Settings > Delete Channel > Verify your password > I want to permanently delete my content > Check the box and click Delete My Content > Enter your email address to confirm. This won’t delete your Google account, but just your YouTube channel.
Source
Consumer Reports: How to Delete Online Accounts You No Longer Need
lifehacker: How to Delete Your Online Accounts but Keep Your Data
