How to log out of Facebook Messenger app on iPhone

We live in an age where you can get in touch with anyone instantly at the click of a button. 

However, sometimes you may want to take a break from the constant interaction and take a little time to yourself. 

The Facebook Messenger app doesn’t make it super clear about how to log out. So if you’re after a break from the app, keep reading for our step-by-step guide about how to log out of the Messenger app on iPhone.

How to log out of Facebook Messenger app on iPhone

Facebook doesn’t make it very clear about how to log out of the app, but you can do it in a few simple steps. To log out of the Facebook Messenger app, follow the below steps:

  1. Open the Messenger app on your iPhone.
  2. Tap on your profile image on the top left-hand side of the screen.
  3. Scroll down and tap ‘Account settings’.
  4. Tap ‘Security and login’.
  5. This will open up a page on your web browser and you’ll see the list of devices where you are logged in.
  6. Select the Messenger session or sessions you want to log out from and tap ‘Log out’.

The Facebook mobile app isn’t very intuitive, but it is pretty easy to log out of the Messenger application. You’ll get a notification that you’ve successfully logged out after doing this.

How to delete an account on Facebook Messenger

If you wish to go further than logging out of your Messenger account, you can delete an account. This can be worth doing if you want to get rid of the Facebook app completely.

Facebook Messenger is not the most secure messaging service out there, since it tracks your behaviour, lacks a default encryption option, and doesn’t encrypt your past conversations.

So it’s understandable why people may wish to remove themselves from it completely, as there are plenty of instant messaging applications you can choose as an alternative.

Facebook simply doesn’t want people to delete their accounts, so deleting an account on Messenger can be tricky.

It’s important to remember that once you delete your Messenger account, all of your chats and contact will also be deleted and you won’t be able to sign back into the same account. 

Unfortunately, but not surprisingly, you cannot delete your Messenger account through the Messenger app. You’ll need to log into Facebook itself and delete your Facebook account and all of its data. 

To delete your account on Messenger via Facebook, follow the steps below:

  1. Log into Facebook on the app or web browser.
  2. Tap on the ‘Menu’ button on the bottom right-hand corner (shown as three horizontal lines).
  3. Scroll down the ‘Settings & Privacy’, tap ‘Settings’.
  4. Tap ‘Personal and account information’. 
  5. Tap ‘Account ownership and control’ 
  6. Tap ‘Deactivation and deletion’. 
  7. Tap ‘Delete account’, then ‘continue to account deletion’.
  8. Select a reason for deleting your account.
  9. Re-enter your Facebook password and hit ‘continue to account deletion’.

This will delete both your Facebook account and Messenger account. After doing this, Facebook gives a thirty-day window for you to recover your account.

However after this, you will no longer be able to access your account or your data.

Can you temporarily deactivate an account on Messenger?

The Facebook app encourages its users to deactivate their accounts instead of permanently deleting them. Doing this allows you to easily re-activate your account by signing back in. 

If you wish to deactivate your Messenger account, the steps are similar to the above.

  1. Log into Facebook on the app or web browser.
  2. Tap on the ‘Menu’ button on the bottom right-hand corner (shown as three horizontal lines).
  3. Scroll down the ‘Settings & Privacy’, tap ‘Settings’.
  4. Tap ‘Personal and account information’. 
  5. Tap ‘Account ownership and control’ 
  6. Tap ‘Deactivation and deletion’. 
  7. Tap ‘Deactivate account’, then ‘continue to account deactivation’.
  8. Select a reason for deactivating your account.
  9. Re-enter your Facebook password and hit ‘continue to account deactivation’.

Again, this will deactivate both your Facebook account and Messenger account. This means the account will no longer be accessible by other Facebook users, but you can recover your account by simply signing in again. 

deactivate-facebook

Therefore, you should only do this if you’re absolutely sure you want to get rid of your Facebook completely – not just the Messenger aspect of it.

Remove an account on the Messenger app

Since Messenger allows you to be logged into several accounts and switch between them, you may just want to remove an account from your app so you no longer have access to it without logging in again.

However, it’s important to remember that this is not the same as deleting your account and people will still be able to send messages to that account. 

To remove an account from the Messenger app, follow the steps below:

  1. Open the Messenger app.
  2. Tap your profile picture on the top left-hand corner.
  3. Tap ‘Switch account’.
  4. Swipe left on the account you wish to delete and hit ‘Delete’.

You can easily access the removed again by simply choosing the ‘Add Account’ option on the Messenger app. 

Conclusion

Facebook makes it pretty simple to log out of your account on Messenger. However, if you wish to take further steps to delete or deactivate it, it becomes a little tricky. 

If you’re having issues with the Messenger app not working, check out our article about the Facebook Messenger app not working whatsoever.

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Alex

By day he's an engineer and by night (well, evening or very early morning but night sounds way cooler) Alex runs the Apps UK ship. He has a keen interest in language, fitness & especially social media - he is always on the lookout for the next hot platform.

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