Tech Crunch - How to delete Facebook, Instagram, and Threads

Rebecca Bellan
1:50 PM PST · January 22, 2025

In the wake of Meta’s decision to remove its third-party fact-checking system and loosen content moderation policies, Google searches on how to delete Facebook, Instagram, and Threads have been on the rise.

People who are angry with the decision accuse Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg of cozying up to the Trump administration at the expense of turning the company’s social media platforms into more of a hotbed for misinformation and polarizing speech than they already are. Zuckerberg’s remarks that the company’s third-party fact checkers were “too politically biased” for his vision of “free expression” probably didn’t help matters.

Since Meta’s announcement, many users have called out inconsistencies with Zuckerberg’s newfound commitment to free speech. Meta admitted in mid-January that it blocked links to Pixelfed, an Instagram competitor. And just days after Zuckerberg took a front row seat in President Donald Trump’s inauguration ceremony, Instagram blocked searches related to a number of political hashtags, including #democrats and #jan6th.

People outside the U.S. might be considering their options, too. Meta says it will keep fact-checkers in markets outside the U.S. “for now,” but things could change.

So if you, like countless others, have had it with Meta’s algorithms whipping you into a frenzy over [insert cultural or political issue here] and are tired of the company slurping up your data to train its AI or send you targeted advertising and political messaging, then read on.

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