How to Delete Your Instagram Account Without Losing Your Photos

We love sharing things on social media, and we also love seeing updates from our friends’ posts. From small things like photos of our meals, the view from the office window to important life events such as the birth of a child, a new job, and moving into a new home. We see these things every day on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter.

It’s fun. It’s interesting. It’s inspiring. Until it gets boring. Irritating. Overwhelming.

Call it whatever you want, but sometimes, you just have to get away from it all. Even Selena Gomez, once the most followed celebrity on Instagram, had to take a break on social media.  

View this post on Instagram

Mood lol (I was looking at myself in the mirror -like an idiot!) Update: taking a social media break. Again. As much as I am grateful for the voice that social media gives each of us, I am equally grateful to be able to step back and live my life present to the moment I have been given. Kindness and encouragement only for a bit! Just remember- negative comments can hurt anybody’s feelings. Obvi.

A post shared by Selena Gomez (@selenagomez) on Sep 23, 2018 at 4:37pm PDT

Here’s how to delete your Instagram account without losing your photos. Because we know you still want to go back to those from time to time.

Backup your Instagram Photos

If you’re thinking about permanently deleting your Instagram account, the first logical thing to do is to create a backup of your photos and videos. It will be tedious to do this one-by-one as you may already have hundreds (if not thousands) of posts on your account. Thankfully, there’s an easy way to do it:

1. Launch the Instagram app.
2. Tap on your profile picture located at the bottom right of your screen.
3. On the upper right side of the next screen, tap on the menu icon.
4. You will see a gear icon. Tap on it to open the Settings screen.
5. Go to Privacy and Security then select Request Data Download.

You may need to wait up to 24 hours for your request to be processed. A link to your requested files will be sent to the email address you used when you signed up for Instagram. It will take hours to complete the download, depending on the number of files you have on Instagram.

Alternatively, there are also apps such as Instaport which you can use to download your Instagram posts. It will also allow you to post them on other social media platforms.

Deleting your Instagram account permanently

You can’t delete your Instagram using your mobile phone’s Instagram app; you need to use a web browser. Here are the steps to do it:

1. Go to the Delete Your Account page.
2. Log into your Instagram account.
3. Under “Why are you deleting your account?”, select the most appropriate option. You won’t be able to delete your account if you don’t choose a reason.
4. Re-enter your password.
5. Select “Permanently delete my account.”

If you have other Instagram accounts you want to delete, you can click on the username located at the upper right side of the page. Click on log out then log in to the account you want to delete.

After deleting your Instagram accounts, you won’t be able to log back in, and you can’t retrieve any photo or video. So make sure you have created a backup for all your posts.

Deactivating Instagram account temporarily

If you can’t say goodbye to Instagram permanently, just take a short break by deactivating your account temporarily. Again, you need to open a browser since you can’t do this from the Instagram mobile app.

1. Open a browser, and type Instagram.com on the address bar.
2. Log in to your Instagram account.
3. Click on your profile picture at the top of the screen.
4. Select “Edit Profile.”
5. Select “Temporarily disable my account.”
6. Select a reason why you want to disable your account temporarily.
7. Re-enter your password.
8. Click on “Temporarily disable my account.”

Your Instagram profile, photos, videos, and your comments on other people’s posts will be hidden. They will resurface when you reactivate your account.

To reactivate your account, all you have to do is to log back in on the Instagram mobile app.

Hiding Instagram posts

Why deactivate your Instagram account when you can just hide embarrassing posts, like those pictures of you and your ex? Follow these steps:

1. Launch Instagram on your phone.
2. Open your profile.
3. Select the Instagram post you want to archive by tapping on it.
4. Tap on the three dots at the top right of the post.
5. Select “Archive.”

The post will be hidden and will no longer appear on your Instagram profile unless you unhide it. To unarchive a post, follow these steps:

1. On your profile, tap on the clock icon located at the top right of the screen.
2. You will be taken to the Archive page where you can toggle between Stories and Posts. You will also see your IG stories on this page, which you can save and repost as a story or as a regular post.
3. Select the post you want to unhide.
4. Tap on “Show on profile.” The post will be back on its original place on your profile.

There are certainly other ways to hide posts without deactivating or deleting your account. You can block some users so they won’t see your profile. Or you can mute other users so you won’t see their stories and posts on your timeline.

However, if it’s a must for you to take a break from Instagram, follow the steps enumerated above. Then come back when you feel revitalized and ready for Instagram. If at some point you decide to delete your account permanently, don’t forget to backup all your posts.

Date: May 13, 2019 / Categories: Guide, / Author: Rich Drees