If you deactivate your account from your Account Settings page, your profile and all information associated with it disappears from the Facebook service immediately. People on Facebook will not be able to search for you or view any of your information.


In case you want to come back to Facebook at some point, we save your profile information (friends, photos, interests, etc.) so that your account will look just the way it did when you left. A lot of people deactivate their accounts for temporary reasons and expect their profiles to be there when they return to the service.

If you do not think you will use Facebook again and would like your account deleted, keep in mind that you will not be able to reactivate your account or retrieve any of the content or information you have added. If you would like your account permanently deleted with no option for recovery, log in to your account and then submit your request here.


If you are currently unable to access your account, you will need to reset your password in order to log in. In order to do so, click the "Forgot your password?" link that appears above the field where you would normally enter your password. Once you’ve followed the instructions to reset your password and can log in, you can deactivate or delete your account using the steps outlined above.

To change your date of birth:

1. Select the "Edit" button in the top right corner of your profile.
2. Edit your date of birth.
3. Click "Save Changes."

You can submit a name change request through the "Name" section of your Account Settings page. Please note that Facebook reviews each name change request that is submitted. Due to the volume of requests we receive, your request may not be processed immediately.

Please note that Facebook account names must adhere to the following authenticity standards:

• Your full first and last name must be listed. Initials cannot stand in place of your full name. Nicknames can be listed if they are a variation of your first or last name, but only in the format "First Name ‘Nickname’ Lastname."
• Your name must be listed using characters from one language only.
• Your name cannot consist of any titles, symbols, numbers, unusual capitalization, or punctuation.

In addition, please keep in mind that Facebook accounts are for individual personal use. Accounts representing groups, families or couples are not allowed. To represent a celebrity, business or brand, please create a Facebook Page. Pages are for representing a real public figure, artist, brand or organization, and may only be created by an official representative of that entity. For more information about Facebook Pages, please click here.

Impersonating anyone or anything is not permitted. To encourage people to use their real names on Facebook, we limit the number of times names can be changed. Also, if a Facebook representative changes your name for you, this change is considered final and you can’t manually change your name afterwards. To list another name you go by, such as a maiden name, please go to the Account Settings page.

Please note that Facebook account names must adhere to the following authenticity standards:

• Your full first and last name must be listed. Initials cannot stand in place of your full name. Nicknames can be listed if they are a variation of your first or last name, but only in the format "First Name ‘Nickname’ Lastname."
• Your name must be listed using characters from one language only.
• Your name cannot consist of any titles, symbols, numbers, unusual capitalization, or punctuation.

In addition, please keep in mind that Facebook accounts are for individual personal use. Accounts representing groups, families or couples are not allowed. To represent a celebrity, business or brand, please create a Facebook Page. Pages are for representing a real public figure, artist, brand or organization, and may only be created by an official representative of that entity. For more information about Facebook Pages, please click here.

Impersonating anyone or anything is not permitted. To encourage people to use their real names on Facebook, we limit the number of times names can be changed. Also, if a Facebook representative changes your name for you, this change is considered final and you can’t manually change your name afterwards. To list another name you go by, such as a maiden name, please go to the Account Settings page.

If you need to change your name for a legitimate reason, such as a change in marital status, please follow these instructions here.

To help people who know you by another name find you in Search, Facebook allows you to display the name entered in your "Alternate Name" field on your profile.

To display your alternate name on your profile, follow the steps below:

1. Select "Account Settings" from the Settings drop-down menu at the top of every Facebook Page.
2. Indicate that you want to "change" your name.
3. Enter the information in the "Alternate Name" field
4. Check the box under the alternate name field if you would like your alternate name to be displayed along with your account name on your profile, search listings and friend requests. Otherwise, it will only help people find you in search."
5. Click the "Change Alternate Name" button. You will now be found in search by your current name (as listed in your profile) and this alternate name.

If you have checked the box to display your alternate name on your profile, it will appear in parentheses next to your Full Name at the top of your profile. It will also be displayed in search results and in any friend requests you send.

You can change the email address we send notifications to from your account from your Account Settings page.

1. Open the Account dropdown menu at the top right corner of Facebook and choose Account Settings.
2. Click Email to change your preference. If you have more than one email address linked to your account, then we'll send notifications to the one you choose as primary.

Having a security question is a useful way to verify your ownership, should you lose access to your Facebook account or login email address. You can add a security question to your account from your Account Settings page, accessible from the Account drop-down menu at the top of any Facebook page. To add a security question, take the following steps:

1. Click "change" in the Security Question section.
2. In the "Question" dropdown menu, select a security question whose answer you are certain you will remember in the future. Keep your security question secret, and ensure that your answer is specific enough that it cannot be guessed easily.
3. Carefully enter your answer to the selected question. Once you set your question, you will not be able to edit or change it.
4. Click the "Change Security Question" button. You will then be prompted to enter your password to confirm the submission of your security question.

Please note that once you have submitted your security question, the Security Question section will disappear from the Account Settings page. In order to protect your account security, it is not possible to change your account’s security question once you have added one.

To improve the overall security of your account, click here.

To change your school status, simply go to the "Networks" tab of the Account page. If you click on the "Edit Info" link to the right of your school, you will be given the option to edit your School Status.

To edit your graduation year, simply go to the "Networks" tab of the Account page. If you click on the "Edit Info" link to the right of your school, you will be given the option to edit your Class Year.

To set your language, go to the bottom of the page you are on and click the current language in the left corner. You may then select your language from the menu that appears.

You can also update your language by going to the Account page, and then the "Language" tab there.

If the time stamps you see on Facebook are incorrect, your computer’s time settings are probably wrong. Facebook uses your computer’s time settings, so please make sure this information is correct. Once you have adjusted these settings, log out of Facebook and then log back in. Your Facebook time stamps should be adjusted accordingly.

Facebook does not allow you to merge accounts. You will need to add your more active account as an admin for any Groups or Pages you manage. You will also need to copy your profile content (e.g. photos, notes, etc.) and add it manually to your more active account. To make this process easier, you can download your information from Facebook.

Once you have moved all information onto a single account, please delete your duplicate account. Afterward you can add email addresses and networks to your remaining account from the Account Settings page located in the Account drop-down menu at the top of any Facebook page.

Memorializing the account:
Please report this information here, so we can memorialize this person’s account. Memorializing the account restricts profile access to confirmed friends only. Please note that in order to protect the privacy of the deceased user, we cannot provide login information for the account to anyone.

Removing the account:
Verified immediate family members may request the removal of a loved one’s account. This will completely remove the account from Facebook, so no one can view it. We will not restore the account or provide information on its content unless required by law. If you are requesting a removal and are not an immediate family member of the deceased, your request will not be processed. In this case, the account will be memorialized.

If you are an immediate family member and would like to request that we remove your loved one's account from the site, click here. You may also use this form if you have a special request regarding a deceased user's account.

The contact email address you are trying to add to your account is already associated with another Facebook account. Please note that you can only have one Facebook account per email address. If you proceed to add the new email address, then the original Facebook account associated with that email address will be removed from the site. If you believe you are receiving this message in error, please click here.

When creating a new password, be sure that it is at least 6 characters in length and that you use a complex string of numbers, letters, and punctuation marks. If the password you entered is not strong enough, you may want to try mixing uppercase and lowercase letters or making your password longer.

Ideally, the password you select should be easy for you to remember but hard for someone else to figure out. For added security, your Facebook password should also be different than other passwords that you use on the internet.

After you have been on the site for a few weeks, clicking on your profile will bring you straight to your Wall instead of your info.