We all have those weird friends on Facebook. While some regularly post hateful things, there are others who don't use it. Facebook Not at all. What's even worse is that some continue to bombard you with invitations to play games. At some point, you'll want to remove these strange accounts. While it's easy to delete someone, what if they deactivate their account?
Well, there is a way to remove disabled personal accounts. You'll need the help of the Facebook website to do this gruesome thing, as these personal accounts cannot be deleted from the mobile apps.
However, before we jump into the real action, let's back up a bit and understand what happens when someone deactivates their account.
What happens with a deactivated Facebook account?
Deactivating a Facebook profile temporarily disables it. This means that the deactivated profile, their photos, and other Facebook content are hidden from other users. Facebook does not delete their data, including photos, posts, friends, videos, etc. All of this data reappears when the same profile is reactivated.
Unfriend disabled accounts
To remove deactivated profiles from your Facebook account, first, you'll need to visit the Friends section. Then, locate and select the deactivated profile you want to remove, followed by unfriending it.
Below are the steps in detail.
1. Open the Facebook Friends section.
Visiting the Friends section is important because you cannot view the profile otherwise via Facebook search.
You can view the Friends section in the following ways:
The first method: from your personal account
Open Facebook and go to your personal account by clicking on your profile picture icon in the top bar. Then click on the Friends tab below your cover photo.
The second method: From the home page
On the Facebook home page, click the Friend Lists option in the left sidebar under Explore. On the next screen, click the "See All Friends" option at the top.
Method 3: Use direct link
open this Link , and it will take you directly to the friends section.
2. Search and identify disabled accounts
Now that you can see all your Facebook friends, it's time to find and disable the deactivated profiles.
How to identify disabled accounts
As mentioned earlier, a disabled account cannot be accessed through search. Even under Friends, you will have to search for specific clues.
For starters, deactivated profiles don't have a profile picture. Instead, they have the default Facebook silhouette. However, not every profile with a silhouette indicates it's been deactivated. Some people may have removed their profile picture.
Another way to identify deactivated profiles is to look for the total number of mutual friends next to their name. If the profile has the default Facebook image and doesn't show any mutual friends, it means the account has been deactivated.
Finally, the easiest way to find out is to click on the profile with the default Facebook image. If the profile is available, you'll be taken to it. However, if it's deactivated, you'll see a pop-up window stating that the account has been deactivated.
Find disabled accounts
Once you know how to identify deactivated accounts, it's time to find them. There are two options: find a Facebook friend who has deactivated their account, or search for all deactivated profiles.
In the first case, where you know who you want to remove—let's say, previously—use the search box. Essentially, find that person by typing their name into the "Find Your Friends" box available on the Friends page.
To find or deactivate all profiles at once, you'll need to repeat the above method. That is, you'll need to type the letters A-Z into your search query one by one and search for the deactivated profiles. You can also scroll through your friends list to find these profiles. Unfortunately, there's no dedicated or simple way to do this.
3. Remove disabled friends
Finally, once you find the unfriended profile, tap on the drop-down “Friends” option available next to their name and select Unfriend from the list.
Alternatively, click on their name under Friends and a pop-up window will appear. Click Unfriend.
What happens when you unfriend a disabled account?
Nothing special. Just like you remove any other friend, a deactivated profile will be removed from your list. You won't be able to view, comment on, or like private posts or stories when the other person reactivates. If you want to do all of that, you'll have to add them again.
Should you remove disabled friends' accounts?
I would advise against this unless you don't want to be friends with them in the future. This is because deactivating an account may actually be temporary—the other person hasn't deleted their account. So when the person comes back on Facebook, *surprise surprise* you won't be friends with them anymore.
Also, how does their silent presence in your friends section bother you? So unless you control those ghost profiles and have no problem keeping them, then the answer is no.
Is it time to say goodbye or not?
This way, you can remove these ghost profiles from your account. But if you decide to keep them on your friends list, there are alternative ways to stop interacting with these profiles. For example, you can hide them, unfollow them, or place them on a restricted list. Fortunately, since none of these features will flag or notify you, you can live a happy life without deleting them.
