How to delete a Threads account

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Deleting a Threads profile takes about a minute, and it no longer costs you your Instagram account. That second part is worth leading with, because it was not always true and the old behaviour is still repeated in plenty of places.

Decide which one you want first

Threads offers two options behind the same menu item, and people routinely pick the wrong one. Deactivating is a hide switch. Deleting is permanent.

If you are unsure, deactivate. It achieves everything most people actually want — your profile stops being visible and the app stops being part of your life — while leaving the door open. You can delete later; you cannot undelete.

Export anything you want to keep first

Deletion is not a bluff, and there is no support route to reverse it once the grace period closes. If any of your posts matter to you, pull them out before you start. Meta's download-your-information tool covers Threads, and the request can take a while to be prepared, so start it before you delete rather than after.

Individual videos and photos are quicker to grab one at a time — the downloader on this site takes a post link and hands back the original file, which is often all anyone wants from an archive they will never read again.

Deleting from the phone app

1. Open your profile. Launch Threads and tap the profile icon at the far right of the bottom bar.
2. Open the settings menu. Tap the two-line menu icon in the top-right corner of your profile, then choose Account.
3. Choose deactivate or delete. Tap Deactivate or delete profile and pick which one you want. Threads asks you to confirm with your Instagram password, because that is the credential the profile is built on.

Confirm, and you are done. The profile disappears from public view immediately; the underlying removal completes over the following weeks.

Deleting from a browser

The web version can do the same thing, which is useful if you have already uninstalled the app and would rather not reinstall it to leave.

1. Open threads.com and sign in with your Instagram account.
2. Open your profile, then the settings menu.
3. Go to Account, then Deactivate or delete profile, and follow the same confirmation.

What deleting does not do

• It does not touch Instagram. Your account, followers, posts, Reels and DMs there are unaffected.
• It does not uninstall the app. The icon stays on your phone until you remove it yourself, and opening it will simply offer to create a profile again.
• It does not free your username for someone else. The handle belongs to your Instagram account, not to the Threads profile.
• It does not recall federated copies. If you had enabled sharing to the fediverse, independent servers may already hold copies of your posts, and those are outside Meta's reach to delete.
• It does not remove screenshots or reposts. Obvious, but it is the reason deletion is not a privacy remedy for something that already spread.

Alternatives worth considering

Deleting is a large lever for what is often a smaller problem. Depending on what is actually bothering you:

• Too noisy? Switch the feed to the Following tab, which is chronological and shows only accounts you chose.
• Do not want to be found? Make the profile private. Your posts stop being publicly readable without losing anything.
• Do not want it advertised on Instagram? That is a separate setting — see how to remove Threads from Instagram.
• Just want a break? Deactivate. It is designed for exactly this and costs nothing to undo.