If you frequent social media sites, chances are you have seen friends clean out their accounts to cut down on screen time. A cleanse like this might be appealing to people who spend a lot of time in doom.

Deleting your account will make it impossible for you to post anything. No one will be able to find your account page. disabling your account will hide your account and photos, but you can bring them back at any time.

Unfortunately, you can't always uninstall your account from the app. If you only have a regular account, you won't see any options about disabling or deletion, in order to see these options, you need to have a professional account.

If you don't have a Business or Professional account, you will have to remove your account in the normal way. If you have one of those special accounts, you can use the iPhone app to remove it.

Even if you don't want to use social media anymore, it doesn't mean you have to give up all your photos. You can download your data before you remove your account.

You can only do this with a web browser. Go to the website and log in, then open the Data Download menu.

How to delete or disable your Instagram account on iPhone

You could only uninstall your account using a web browser. You can do it in the app.

1. In the bottom-right corner, you can find your profile picture.

2. Select settings by tapping the three stacked lines in the top-right.

A profile page in the Instagram iPhone app.
You can open the Settings menu from your profile page.
Instagram; William Antonelli/Insider

3. Go to the bottom of the page and remove the account.

The Account settings page in the Instagram app.
You'll need a Business or Professional account to see this.
Instagram; William Antonelli/Insider

4. If you want to remove your account, choose whether to do so or not. Deleting your account will permanently erase all your photos, videos, and comments, while disabling it will hide your profile until you log back in.

5. A new page will appear if you choose either option. After filling out the form, confirm your choice.

The menu in the Instagram app that asks the user why they're deleting their account.
Specify why you want to delete your account.
Instagram

Your account will be disabled or deleted.

You can log back in within 30 days if you deleted your account. You can log back in if you want to.

You will probably want to uninstall the app after you have deleted your account. We have a guide on how to uninstall iPhone apps.

Editor & Staff Writer for Tech Reference William Antonelli (he/she/they) is a writer, editor, and organizer based in New York City. As a founding member of the Reference team, he's helped grow Tech Reference from humble beginnings into a juggernaut that attracts over 20 million visits a month. Outside of Insider, his writing has appeared in publications like Polygon, The Outline, Kotaku, and more. He's also a go-to source for tech analysis on channels like Newsy, Cheddar, and NewsNation. You can find him on Twitter @DubsRewatcher, or reach him by email at wantonelli@insider.com.