Are you trying to work out how to delete Instagram account permanently?
There are a number of scenarios that we can think of where you might want to delete your Instagram account.
It is important to note that if you decide to just deactivate your Instagram account, this is going to last for 30 days.
If you sign back into your Instagram profile during this time, it is going to automatically reactivate your account.
However, if you try to do it after 30 days, you aren’t going to be able to, because your Instagram account is going to be permanently deleted.
The good news is that there is also the option of being able to temporarily disable your Instagram account.
How to Delete Instagram Account Permanently in 2025
Below, we talk about how to delete your Instagram account, so that you can have all bases covered, whether you want to permanently delete your Instagram account, or you just want to be able to deactivate it for a certain period of time.
How to Delete Instagram Account on Mobile
Open your Instagram app.
Select the person icon, or your profile picture. The person icon is at the bottom of the screen, and it will take you to your profile page.
Select the menu that looks like three horizontal lines stacked on one another. This is at the top of your page to the right.
Select ‘settings’ at the bottom of the menu that comes up.
Scroll down until you see ‘help’. This will be the question mark icon.
Select ‘help center’. This is the second item in the ‘help’ menu. This will open another web browser page where you will see some instructions.
Select ‘managing your account’. This is the second option available that you will find close to the top of the page.
Select ‘delete your account’. This should be the second option.
Select ‘how do I delete my Instagram account’. Select this option if you don’t want to have to open the same account ever again on Instagram.
If you want to just temporarily disable your Instagram account, then click on ‘how do I temporarily disable my Instagram account’.
From here, you can follow the instructions that will come up on your screen.
Review the conditions and select ‘delete your account’.
The information on this page lets you know that deleting your account is permanent, but you will have 30 days to sign back in and reactivate it should you change your mind.
You will see the ‘delete your account’ option in the blue text under the first section.
If you aren’t already signed into your Instagram account, you will need to do this now.
Choose the reason why you want to delete your account. Look through the menu that will drop down to choose the reason why you want to delete your account.
If you don’t want to choose a reason, then choose ‘something else’.
Enter your password again and select ‘permanently delete my account’. This is going to open a new window where it will ask you to confirm this action.
Select ‘ok’. If you sign back into your Instagram account within 30 days, then you will reactivate your account.
Once 30 days is up, your account will be deleted permanently, and you won’t be able to do this.
How to Delete an Instagram Account on Desktop
Open Instagram in your web browser.
Select ‘managing your account’ on the left side of the screen.
Select ‘delete your account’. This is the second option that you will see in the panel.
Select ‘how do I delete my Instagram account’. Choose this option if you don’t plan on opening this account ever again.
If you want to temporarily disable your Instagram account, then you will need to choose ‘how do I temporarily disable my instagram account’.
Review the conditions and then select ‘delete your account’.
The information here will tell you that doing this is permanent, but you will have up to 30 days to sign back in if you want to reactivate your Instagram profile.
You will see the link to delete your account in blue text under the first section. If you haven’t already signed into your account, you will need to do this now.
Choose the reason that you want to delete your account. A menu will drop down, and you can choose from the reasons listed here why you want to get rid of your Instagram profile.
If you don’t want to have to say, then choose ‘something else’.
Enter your password again. This will confirm that you want to delete your account forever.
Select ‘permanently delete my account’. This will open a window asking you to confirm this action.
Select ‘ok’. Now that your account is all set up to be deleted, it will be permanently deleted by Instagram after 30 days.
Deleting vs. Deactivating
As we talked about, you have the option to both delete and deactivate your Instagram profile.
When you deactivate your Instagram profile, this is temporary, but while your profile is deactivated, your account along with your content is going to be hidden from other users.
If you want to be able to restore all of this information, and start using your Instagram profile again, all you need to do is log back into your account.
However, if you choose to delete your Instagram profile, you can’t undo this, because a deleted Instagram profile can’t be restored.
When you delete your Instagram profile, all of your data is going to be deleted permanently.
Also, if you want to sign up for a new Instagram profile, you won’t be able to use the same username again.
Deactivating Your Instagram Profile
You aren’t going to be able to deactivate your Instagram profile through the app, because you have to do it through the web browser.
You will need to go to the Instagram website through your web browser, and log into your account to visit the profile page.
Once you have located the profile page, you can choose ‘edit profile’, and then go to the bottom of the page, and select ‘temporarily disable my account’.
Instagram is going to ask you why you want to disable your account, so you will need to choose a reason from the menu that pops up.
Then, you will be asked to reenter your password, and choose ‘temporarily disable account’.
Your account is now going to be deactivated, and it will be hidden from other people who use Instagram, until you choose to log into it again.
It is also worth noting here that you are only going to be able to deactivate your Instagram profile once a week.
Downloading Instagram Data
As we have mentioned already, when you delete your Instagram account, all of your data gets removed, and you can’t retrieve it.
As a result, you might want to download your Instagram data, before you go ahead and delete your account, so that you still have all of your videos and photos.
To do this, go to your Instagram profile, and choose settings.
Select privacy and security and select ‘request download’. Enter the e-mail address that you would like to use to receive your data, and then enter your password.
Within 48 hours, you should get an e-mail with a link to your data, which will be called your Instagram data.
All you need to do is select ‘download data’, and you’ll be able to get your Instagram data onto your computer.
Other Ways to Keep Your Instagram Data Private
These days, most of us use a cloud storage service, so that we can backup important files, and data.
If you use one of these storage services, make sure that you choose one that is going to be able to automatically encrypt your files.
However, because they hold the key to encryption, they might be able to access your data, and potentially even share it with a governmental authority, should they request it.
To get around this issue you can manually encrypt your files, which means that only you are going to be able to hold the key to your data. The cloud provider isn’t going to be able to access your data.
Choosing a VPN for Instagram such as NordVPN is really helpful, because it means you’re going to be able to encrypt your internet connection and browsing data, and you’re going to be able to make sure that nobody else is going to be able to access that data.
FAQs
How Long Will Instagram Keep My Data For?
Instagram says that they can take as long as 90 days to completely delete your profile, which means that they might have pieces of information about your profile stored on their servers.
As far as their data policy goes, they say that they might keep information about your account beyond the 90 days as well.
They retain this information for legal purposes, or in relation to a violation of their terms of use.
Can I Delete My Child’s Instagram Profile?
The answer is no, you can’t delete your child’s Instagram profile, at least without knowing their login information.
As far as Instagram goes, you aren’t going to be able to delete somebody else’s Instagram profile because you have to be the account owner in order to delete it.
How Long until Instagram Deletes My Account?
If you go through the step-by-step guide that we have detailed above, your Instagram profile is going to be deleted after 30 days, and your is going to be invisible during these 30 days, so nobody will be able to see it.
However, as we talked about, any data that is stored could take as long as 90 days to be deleted.
If you’re wondering how long it takes for Instagram to delete an inactive account, or an account that has been reported as being spammy, or a bot, the answer isn’t as clear.
Instagram tends to delete completely inactive profiles periodically, but nobody knows when this is exactly.
Final Thoughts
Now you know everything there is to know about deleting an Instagram account.
As you can see, there are a number of options, depending on what it is that you’re trying to achieve by getting rid of your Instagram profile.
Choose the one that’s right for you, and you will be able to have more control over your Instagram profiles in the future.
Learning how to delete Instagram account permanently is a helpful and important part of being online in general.
