Seems like people are done with Instagram and Facebook and want to delete their account from Meta-owned platforms.

According to data released by VPNOverview, a cyber security website, searches for keywords ‘deactivate Facebook‘ and ‘deactivate Instagram’ surged in the recent past.

The website conducted a study on the top 30 most popular apps of people in the USA to see which one they are most interested in deleting.

As per the data, searches for ‘deactivate Instagram’ rose by 2,400 per cent, peaking on February 19, whereas ‘deactivate Facebook’ team in the search was increased by 1,566 per cent.

This doesn’t come as a surprise as the Mark Zuckerberg-owned Meta has been suffering economically after Apple upped its privacy policy recently.

Apple’s App Tracking Transparency feature allows iPhone users from being tracked by different applications, including social media apps such as Facebook and Instagram.These apps survive on mobile ad revenue which heavily depends on this type of tracking. Apple’s new update gives users more control and allows them to stop apps from tracking their moves on the device by the Cupertino-based tech giant’s privacy features in Settings.Now the data released by VPNOverview brings Meta’s worst nightmare to reality. As per the data, over 900,000 searches by people were on how to ‘delete’ Instagram, while over 385,410 searches wanted to know how to delete Facebook.

Meanwhile other platforms such as Twitter and Telegram received 92,490 and 24,819 searches, respectively, on deactivation or how to delete the app.

However, not all the eggs in the basket are rotten. The data also shows that despite the hate, Instagram is still one of the most popular apps of 2022.

But if you’re one of the social media users who wishes to take a break or say adieu to Instagram or Facebook, here’s some bad news for you: It’s pretty pointless.

Even if you deactivate your account, your data is still stored on Meta’s servers.

“Once you create an account on Facebook, your data is analysed and stored on Meta’s servers even after the account is deactivated,” Forbes reported, quoting Jake Moore, global cybersecurity advisor at ESET.

“This can often include highly personal information and it can be almost impossible to limit this data exchange to obtain the account itself,” he added.

But if you want to delete Facebook and Instagram because you want to remain private and do not want businesses to obtain your data and use it to market products, then don’t forget to download your data before doing so.

Here’s how you can delete your Facebook account:
On browser:

• Go to Settings & Privacy option after you log into your account
• Settings > Your Facebook Information
• Now select Deactivation and Deletion
• then click on Permanently Delete Account > Delete Account

On smartphone:

• Log into your account on the app then go to Settings & Privacy and select Settings
• Now click on Account Ownership and Control
• Choose Deactivation and Deletion > Delete Account