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How to delete your Instagram account while saving your photos

Now that Facebook has acquired Instagram, you may want to delete your account with the image-sharing service. Here's how to do it while keeping your photos.

Jason Parker Senior Editor / Reviews - Software
Jason Parker has been at CNET for nearly 15 years. He is the senior editor in charge of iOS software and has become an expert reviewer of the software that runs on each new Apple device. He now spends most of his time covering Apple iOS releases and third-party apps.
Jason Parker

With the announcement of Facebook's acquisition of Instagram, some Instagram users are worried about information being passed on to the larger social network.

When you delete your account with Instagram, your photos, friendships, comments, and everything you've done with the service will be deleted. Before you pull the trigger, you can save your Instagram shots by using Instaport, an online app that lets you download your images or move them to other social networks. Simply log in to your account, give permission to Instaport to access your files, then start the download.

Instaport
Simply enter your information and download a ZIP file of all your Instagram images. Screenshot by Jason Parker/CNET

Now that you have your photos safely on your hard drive, it's time to delete your Instagram account. To delete your account with Instagram, log in to the account deletion page here. Similar to Instaport, you'll only need to enter your info, select a reason for deleting your account, then click the button that says "I understand, deactivate my account."

Instagram
With your images safe on your hard drive, you can now delete your Instagram account. Screenshot by Jason Parker/CNET

That's it! Though you have lost comments, your Instagram friends, and other information, you now can rest assured your data won't be used by Facebook.