With Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg rallying around Donald Trump, some users are deciding to quit the social media apps. Here’s how to do it for those wanting a break.
ADVERTISEMENTElon Musk’s apparent Nazi salute at US President Donald Trump’s inauguration on Monday has been the “final straw” for some X users who have decided to leave the social media platform.
Musk, who owns X and is the head of Trump’s DOGE advisory body, was accused of performing the Sieg Heil salute – a symbol of Nazi Germany. The Tesla and SpaceX boss responded to the accusation on X saying: “Frankly, they need better dirty tricks. The ‘everyone is Hitler’ attack is sooo tired”.
But it has caused some X users to quit the platform. “Okay well that’s the final straw for me. I’m leaving Twitter,” one user said, while another posted: “Elon Musk is a joke. Leaving Twitter forever, bye”.
French centre-left newspaper Le Monde also announced it would stop posting on X. “The usefulness of our presence (on X) is outweighed by the many side-effects we endure,” Le Monde’s chief Jerome Fenoglio wrote in a Monday op-ed, adding that Musk had made the platform into “an extension of his political action”.
Meanwhile, Meta’s platform Facebook no longer uses fact-checkers and its CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s rapprochement with Trump has increased Google searches on how to leave the social media app.
For those considering making similar moves, here is your guide on how to leave X, formerly Twitter, and Meta companies Instagram, Threads, and Facebook.
How to break up with X
Before leaving your X account, you may have data you would like to save.
To do so, look in the side menu on the browser in the mobile app. In the browser select: More > Settings and Privacy > Your account > Download an archive of your data.
You will then have to enter your password and a verification code from the email account you registered. There may be other verification codes to input.
You then need to click on Request Archive. It can take up to 24 hours to get the copy and you will be notified on the app and email. You will then receive the copy in HTML and JSON.
But before leaving, you may also want to tell your X followers and connections that you are closing down your account. So that only your followers can see your goodbye post, you can switch your profile to private.
To do so, either tap your icon in the mobile app or look in the side menu on the browser if from a computer.
In the browser, select More > Settings and Privacy > Privacy and safety > Audience, media and tagging > Protect your posts.
In the mobile app, select Settings & Support > Settings and Privacy > Privacy and Safety> Audience and tagging > Protect your posts.
You can then select Protect. In the browser pop-up, select Protect.
ADVERTISEMENTYou are now ready to delete your X account. To do so, in your browser click More, which is in the bottom left of the screen. In the mobile app, tap your profile icon.
In your browser, select Settings and Support > Settings and Privacy> Your Account> Deactivate your account.
In the mobile app, select Settings & Support > Settings and Privacy > Your account > Deactivate account.
The account is not technically gone at this stage, as you have 30 days to change your mind. X will still have your information for 30 days but will then delete it permanently afterwards.
ADVERTISEMENTYou can restore the account within the 30 days but logging in a confirming that you want to reactivate it.
How to deactivate Facebook
If you are unsure if you want to delete Facebook permanently, you can deactivate it for a length of time.
To do so if you have the Accounts Centre you select: Personal details > Account ownership and control > Deactivation or deletion and then select to confirm.
If you do not have Accounts Centre, select Settings and Accounts Centre (in the left pane) > Personal details > Account ownership and control > Deactivation or deletion.
ADVERTISEMENTHow to delete Facebook
If you have decided to delete your account, this is what you need to do but it is worth noting that Messenger and all your messages will also be deleted.
Click on your Facebook profile picture. Go to Settings & privacy > Settings. Next go to Accounts Centre (in the left pane) > Personal details > Account ownership and control > Deactivation or deletion.
Next, select the account you’d like to delete. Select Delete account and follow the prompts until you get to Confirm permanent account deletion.
You will then need to confirm you want to delete your profile, but you will be given the option to download your information so that you can save your posts and photos.
ADVERTISEMENTIt is also a good idea to download your photos yourself before you delete your profile.
Facebook will also send you an email confirming your account is scheduled for deletion.
How to delete Instagram
Before deleting Instagram, you may want to save your data.
To do so in your settings: Click the three parallel lines in the bottom left, then click Your Activity > Download your information > click Continue > Download or transfer information > select the profiles that you’d like to download information from > Next > decide if you want to download your information to a device or directly transfer your information to a destination.
ADVERTISEMENTYou will receive a notification when the file is ready by email and on Instagram, which can take up to 30 days. You then have four days to download your information.
Once that lengthy process is done, you can delete your account by going to Accounts ownership and control settings in the Accounts Centre. Then click Deactivation or deletion > your account > Delete account and then Continue.
How to delete Threads
Your Instagram account might be linked to your Threads account. If that is the case then deleting Instagram will also delete your Threads profile.
If that’s not the case, to delete Threads, you need to access threads.net on a computer.
ADVERTISEMENTClick the two parallel lines in the bottom left of the page, then click Settings > Account > Deactivate or delete profile > Delete profile > Delete Threads.
