You can always use the Screen Time function on iPhone and Android to apply some breaks to social media addiction on a small screen. But it’s not an effective solution. It’s too easy to bypass the set limit for the day on apps like Instagram and Snapchat. 

Deactivate Your Instagram Account

The ideal and permanent solution would be to deactivate your Instagram account. No more ads, no more constant feeding from other influencers’ lavish lives and you can have productive time on your hands to get things done. Before we go ahead and show you have to deactivate your Instagram account, let’s talk about possible outcomes from your move. 

What Happens When You Deactivate Your Instagram Account

When you temporarily disable your account, your profile, photos, comments, and likes will be hidden until you reactive the account by logging back in.  Also, the ability to disable your Instagram account is only available from the Instagram web app or mobile browser. You can’t do the same from the Instagram app on iPhone and Android.  However, you can easily activate the disabled account by logging back in from the Instagram mobile apps.  Now that you know what happens after you deactivate your Instagram account, let’s disable it from the Instagram web on the desktop. 

Deactivate Your Instagram Account

In the example below, we will use the Instagram web app on the desktop to deactivate the account. You can follow the same steps on your mobile browser and achieve the same outcome on a small screen.  Without further ado, follow the steps below. 

  1. Open Instagram web app in a browser on the desktop. 
  2. Sign in using your Instagram account credentials. 
  3. From the Instagram home, click on your profile picture at the top and go to Settings. 
  4. Select Edit Profile from the left sidebar. 
  5. Click on Temporarily disable my account from the Edit Profile menu. It will take you to the Temporarily Disable Your Account page. 
  6. Select the reason for deactivating your Instagram account.  If you select reasons like Privacy Concerns, Instagram will offer you different guides on how to make your account Private (we will discuss it later in the post), how to block someone on Instagram, and so on. You can browse them and change your mind if you want. 
  7. To continue, re-enter your password and hit the Temporarily Disable Account at the bottom.  When you press that button, all your photos, comments, and likes will be hidden. As we mentioned above, you can simply log in again and reactivate the account once again.  Keep in mind that you can only disable your Instagram account once a week. 

Make Your Instagram Account Private

If your aim is to keep your Instagram hidden from strangers, you can always use the Private function and make your account secure from stalkers.  The good news is, you can easily make your Instagram account private using mobile apps. Follow the steps below. 

  1. Open Instagram on your phone. 
  2. Go to your account and tap on the hamburger menu at the top. 
  3. Select Settings. 
  4. Enable Private account from the Account privacy menu.  That’s it. From now on, strangers won’t be able to peek into your account. 

Delete Your Instagram Account

Be careful while using this method. It will permanently delete your Instagram account with all the posts, photos, likes, and comments. You can re-create the Instagram account with the same username but your follower count will be gone, along with all the data.  Use this method only if you completely get rid of Instagram from your life. 

  1. Visit Instagram on the web and sign in using your account. 
  2. Go to the dedicated Delete Your Account page and select your reason to delete the account. 
  3. Re-enter your password and confirm your decision.  After deleting the account, you have up to one month to change your mind. During the 30 days, you can come back to Instagram and log in again and get access back. 

Wrapping Up: Disable Your Instagram Account

Being a responsible social media company, Instagram offers various ways to protect, disable, and even delete your account. Keep the possible outcomes in mind with each option and try to get rid of Instagram addiction from your routine.