In the last few years, social media has quickly transformed from what was thought to be a platform for sharing and communication with friends and family into an addiction pill. Similarly, Instagram seems to be the next Facebook that users can’t stay away from. The constant urge to check the feed and spend excessive time discovering new content takes a huge toll on the mental health of the user. If you are one of these users and you have finally decided to close your Instagram account, then you have come to the right place. In this post, we have provided step-by-step instructions for you to deactivate your Instagram account and be done with it. Having said that, let’s start with the guide.
Deactivate Instagram Account in 2020
The process of disabling Instagram account similar to how you can deactivate your Facebook account. Does not delete your data and you can log back in at any time to activate your Instagram account. One thing to note here though, You cannot deactivate Instagram account from mobile app either on Android or iOS. You will need to access Instagram from a web browser to disable it. Here’s how it’s done.
1. Open instagram.com upon your choice web browser on mobile or PC and login to your Instagram account. If your Instagram account is linked with Facebook, click “Continue with Facebook”.
2. After successful login, click the profile icon to open your profile page. Further, Click on “Edit Profile” Click the button and a new page will open with various options.
3. Now scroll to the bottom of the page and Find “Temporarily disable my account”. Click on it. On the next page, select the reason for deactivating the Instagram account and re-enter your password. Finally, click on the “Temporarily disable account” option.
4. It will prompt for recent changes. Here, Click the “Yes” button to completely deactivate the Instagram account. It will instantly log you out of Instagram.
Manage Instagram Usage
If you think you spend too much time on Instagram, it would be a better option to limit usage instead of disabling Instagram all at once. We know how withdrawal syndrome works, right? Once you disable Instagram, there’s a good chance you’ll want it even more. Therefore, it is better to reduce the use slowly and gradually. Here are a few options to better and efficiently manage Instagram usage.
1. Give a Reminder to Excessive Instagram Usage
Recently, silicon valley companies have been waking up to the dark side of spending excessive time on social media apps. To give more control to the user, many companies including Google, Apple and Facebook have introduced built-in ways to limit screen consumption time. Similarly, Instagram has introduced native controls within the app. constantly reminds you to take a break from using Instagram. Here’s how you can access and enable it.
1. Open the Instagram app and tap the profile icon in the bottom right corner. Now tap on the hamburger menu in the upper right corner.
2. Next, tap “Your Activity” at the top. Here you can find the average time you spend on Instagram each day. Now, tap “Set daily reminder” and enter how much time you want to spend on Instagram.
3. You can also customize Instagram notifications by tapping “Notification Settings”. I suggest you pause all notifications To avoid constant interruption.
4. Finally, all of you You will get a prompt by Instagram every time you reach the limit. You can then close the app or continue using it. It’s up to you.
2. Limit Instagram Usage to Screen Time on iOS Devices
Apple takes the user’s health and privacy very seriously. Following in their footsteps, Apple introduced Screen Time in iOS 12. lock apps by time limits. In this section, I will show you how you can limit the use of Instagram on your iOS device after a certain period of time.
1. Open Settings and tap Screen Time. Now Tap on “See All Activity”.
2. Here, scroll down and open the Instagram app. Now, Tap “Add border” Click and set a time limit for the Instagram app.
3. Finally, Tap the “Add” button in the upper right corner. Now when you reach the time limit, Screen Time will block access to Instagram.
3. Limit Instagram Usage with Digital Balance on Android Devices
You can set reminders about your Instagram usage within the app, but that’s hardly a deterrent against bad habits. To completely block apps after a certain period of time, you can: Use the Digital Balance feature on Android devices, just like Screen Time on iOS. Here’s how to do it.
Note: Your device must be on Android Pie to access this feature. We’re also using the Pixel 3 XL in this tutorial. It has the stock UI, so the instructions below may vary slightly if you are using a device with a different Android skin.
1. Open Settings and go to Digital Balance. Now, Tap on “Dashboard”.
2. Here, tap the hourglass icon Adjacent to the Instagram app and set a timer.
3. Now whenever you cross the time limit, Digital Wellbeing will block further use of Instagram.
4. Limit Instagram Usage with Third-Party Apps on Android (For Android Oreo and Lower Versions)
Digital Wellbeing is a great feature for blocking apps after a certain amount of time, but unfortunately it’s not available on all Android devices. To bring a similar feature to Android Oreo and lower Android versions, we have a great third-party app that can do the job well enough. Here I will show you how you can limit your Instagram usage without having to deactivate your Instagram account.
1. Install Stay Focused (Freein-app purchases) on your Android device via the Play Store.
2. Turn it on and Tap the “Click to Give” button. Here, allow Stay Focused to access Usage data.
3. You can now restrict Instagram if it exceeds a limit, similar to Digital Wellbeing. Tap Instagram and choose the time limit and tap “Save”.
4. That’s it. Now if you use Instagram more than the predefined time limit, it will be blocked.
Disable Instagram Account and Start Fresh
So you can deactivate Instagram account both from your mobile phone and from your PC. If you want to reduce Instagram usage time, we recommend using the alternative methods mentioned above. If your device is not updated to Android Pie, you can use Screen Time on iOS, Digital Wellbeing and Stay Focused on Android.
Ultimately, it’s up to you how you want to manage Instagram and we’ve given you all the options to exercise. If you still can’t resist the influence of Instagram, maybe it’s time to delete Instagram forever. Also, check out our post on how to delete a Twitter account if your problems have gone beyond Instagram. Anyway, that’s all for us, let us know your thoughts on the subject by writing them in the comments below.
