Threads, Meta's Instagram-linked rival to Twitter, is finally available. You can read all about it in our Threads hub, but chances are if you've clicked this link you're already fed up with the microblogging app and want to delete your account.
Thankfully, deleting your Threads account is easy - but there's a big catch. Since you have to log into Threads using an existing Instagram account (and you'll be temporarily suspended if you make a new account just for Threads at the time of writing), deleting your Threads account also means deleting your Instagram account.
You probably don't want to do this (though if you do, we've got a guide to deleting your Instagram account too!), but fortunately, there's also an option to just deactivate your Threads account, which essentially makes all of your posts and interactions invisible until you choose to reactivate it.
As such, that's what we'll be walking you through here - click that link above if you really do want to nuke both your Instagram and Threads accounts, otherwise read on to learn how to effectively remove yourself from Threads.
Steps for how to deactivate your Threads account
- Go to your Threads profile
- Under Settings, find 'Account'
- Select 'Deactivate profile' and confirm when prompted
Tools and requirements
- An iOS or Android device
- A Threads account
- No more patience for social media (optional)
Step by step guide
1. How to access your account settings
To begin with, you'll need to access your Threads account settings. You can do this by first going to your profile, which is found by tapping the icon in the bottom-right corner of the screen in the app.
Once you've done this, click the icon in the top-right corner to access the settings menu, and select 'Account' from the available options.
2. Deactivating your account
Here, you'll see an option that says 'Deactivate profile'. Click this, and you'll be taken to the page seen above. Threads will proceed to ask you for final confirmation before allowing you to deactivate your account.
Remember, deactivating your account doesn't permanently remove it from Threads - to do that, you need to delete the Instagram account you used to originally log in. You can reactivate your account at any time from the settings menu. However, you can't deactivate and reactivate your Threads profile more than once a week!
Final thoughts
It's a little shady of Meta to hold a metaphorical gun to the heads of our Instagram accounts should we wish to properly delete our Threads presence, but at least the option to deactivate your account is there - it's better than nothing, we suppose.
It's worth noting that deactivating your account doesn't lose you your Threads handle or your profile page - it just marks you as deactivated and sets all of your posts to hidden. All your data remains on Meta's servers, so reactivating will return everything exactly as it was. If you do choose to delete your Instagram account permanently, Meta will hold onto your Threads data for up to 90 days before deleting it.
Regardless, the process for Threads account deactivation is at least short and painless - so if you've come to check it out but decided it's not really for you, removing yourself from the new social media platform isn't hard.
Plenty of people are jumping ship from Twitter due to Elon Musk's mismanagement of the social media giant (and the current major crisis going on at Twitter). Competitors like Mastodon and Bluesky have tried to fill the gap, but it looks like Threads could really be the best alternative. Is Twitter finally on its deathbed? Wait and see...
