Most people are aware of the difference between deleting and deactivating a Facebook account. In short, deactivating is akin to a temporary deletion where you can reactivate your account at any time, whereas deleting your account is a permanent removal of data.
But you might not realize that deactivating your Facebook account does NOT deactivate your Facebook Messenger account. People will still see be able to see you and can attempt to contact you. Indeed, the process for deactivating Facebook Messenger is entirely separate.
How to Deactivate Facebook Messenger
Before you can deactivate Facebook Messenger, you need to deactivate your Facebook account. We’ve previously explained how to deactivate your account, so if you’ve not yet deactivated Facebook, you need to go and do it before continuing.
Next, to deactivate Facebook Messenger, just follow the simple instructions below:
- Open Messenger on a mobile device.
- Tap on your profile picture in the upper right-hand corner.
- Scroll down and select Privacy and Terms.
- On the next screen, choose Deactivate Messenger.
- Enter your password.
- Tap on Deactivate.
To reactivate Facebook Messenger, just log back into the Messenger app using your username and password.
Note: Reactivating Messenger will also reactivate your main Facebook account. If you only want to keep the Messenger service, you will need to deactivate your Facebook account for a second time.
Remember, you can still appear invisible on Messenger and Facebook Chat without taking the drastic step of deactivating your account. Lastly, keep in mind that if you delete your Facebook account completely, you will lose access to Messenger as well. There is no way to keep Messenger without maintaining a Facebook profile.
