Threads Does Not Have a Delete Option (Yet), But You Can ‘Deactivate’ a Profile

Do you already regret starting a Threads account? In some good news, Meta is “looking into” letting users delete their Threads profile without forcing them to nuke their Instagram account.

Instagram’s head Adam Mosseri mentioned the possibility today after users noticed that it’s impossible to delete a Threads account unless you also terminate your Instagram account. 

“Threads is powered by Instagram, so right now it’s just one account, but we’re looking into a way to delete your Threads account separately,” Mosseri wrote(Opens in a new window) in a Threads post.

He didn’t say when Threads will adopt a straightforward account-deletion process. In the meantime, if you’re desperate to rid yourself of the account, Mosseri suggests users check out the “deactivate profile” option. Click on the profile icon in the bottom-left corner of the app, tap the two-bar settings menu at the top, and then click the account option.  

(Credit: Meta)

“To clarify, you can deactivate your Threads account, which hides your Threads profile and content, you can set your profile to private, and you can delete individual threads posts —all without deleting your Instagram account,” Mosseri wrote. 

Deactivating your profile removes your account’s presence from the Threads platform. Those who try to visit your profile will see an error that says: “Sorry, this page isn’t available.”

The catch is that the deactivate-profile option merely hides all your activity. In reality, the company is still saving all your posts, replies, and likes in Meta’s databases. On the plus side, this means if you choose to reactivate your account, Threads can easily restore the information. But if you prefer to nuke all your Threads activity, tough luck: you’ll need to obliterate your Instagram activity, too.  

The lack of account deletion is likely among the reasons why Meta is refraining to bring Threads to the European Union, which has strict rules on allowing users to delete their account activity. But even so, it looks like a large swath of the public is already joining Threads. Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg reports(Opens in a new window) the app already has over 30 million sign-ups.