‘I swear they’re doing this on purpose’: Facebook user shows how to deactivate account after update makes it ‘nearly impossible’
There’s been a noticeable surge in users leaving Facebook in the early weeks of the new year.
Following Mark Zuckerberg’s announcement that Meta will phase out its traditional fact-checking, coupled with record lobbying efforts to ban its main competitor, TikTok, many users seem ready to leave the platform behind.
As reported by TechCrunch, searches like “how to delete all photos Facebook,” “alternative to Facebook,” “how to quit Facebook,” “how to delete Threads account,” and “how to delete Instagram account without logging in” have skyrocketed, becoming “breakout searches” with a 5,000% increase compared to previous periods.
Despite this trend, a TikToker recently pointed out that deactivating or deleting your Facebook account might not be as straightforward as you’d expect.
Why is she struggling to delete her Facebook account?
TikTok user Jena (@themoonlitpage) recently shared her frustrating experience of trying to delete her Facebook account, alleging the platform deliberately makes the process harder.
In her video, which has over 263,700 views at the time of writing, Jena also shared what she calls “the quickest way” to get the job done.
“So I had the hardest time deactivating my Facebook account today, and I swear they're doing this on purpose,” she says.
Jena explained that despite following every tutorial she could find online, Meta’s Account Center repeatedly blocked her attempts to delete her account.
“Every time I would go into the account center, it said this page was not available at this time,” she explained. “It didn't matter how many times I refreshed or which browser I used—I could not get it.”
So how can I quickly deactivate my Facebook?
After scouring Reddit for advice, she finally found a straightforward solution.
“I found a link directly to the page to help you deactivate fast,” Jena shared. “It will take you directly to the page and bypass all the b.s. that Meta is trying to put in so that we can't deactivate.”
She emphasized her belief that Meta’s hurdles are intentional, ending the video with, “I swear they’re doing this on purpose.”
In her caption, Jena provided the direct link she mentioned: “facebook.com/deactivate_delete_account.”
Are other people encountering the same issue?
Users have long shared their frustrations about the difficulties of deleting their Facebook accounts.
For instance, two Reddit users reported encountering persistent errors like “Something went wrong” when trying to access the account deletion page on Meta Accounts Center—similar to Jena’s experience.
Commenters on these threads overwhelmingly suggested using the same direct link that Jena shared in her video.
According to Gizmodo, this issue isn’t isolated. The publication claims Facebook has “created a labyrinthian maze of menus” that varies depending on the platform, operating system, or app version being used, making it increasingly difficult to locate the account deletion option.
Gizmodo also offered a step-by-step guide for deleting accounts on Android and iOS. The direct link Jena referenced is also a reliable alternative for anyone struggling with the process.
Commenters share their thoughts
In the comments, users seemed outraged at the idea Facebook might be making it difficult for users to leave. Others shared their experiences and additional advice.
“Dont forget to delete Facebook Messenger as well!!!” advised one user.
“This should be illegal to make it so difficult,” offered another.
“Took me 45 minutes to delete it earlier this week,” shared a third.
@themoonlitpage Facebook dot com backslash deactivate underscore delete underscore account
♬ original sound - Jen
The Daily Dot has reached out to Jena via TikTok direct messages and Facebook via email for official comment.
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