Question from Darren: I made up several silly Facebook accounts when I was younger claiming to be in all type of professions, just pretending as a kid will do.
Anyway, I’m an adult now and I’d like to get rid of those accounts but I don’t remember the passwords.
I was young and stupid then and every time I forgot a password I’d just make another Facebook account.
The only account I want to keep is the one I’m using now. Is there any way to delete the old unused accounts but keep my current one?
Rick’s answer: This is a fairly common issue, Darren. Lots of folks create multiple Facebook accounts for one reason or another and end up wanting to close them later.
Luckily, it’s usually pretty easy to get most unwanted accounts removed simply by reporting them as fake accounts. Just follow the steps below for the device you use to access Facebook.
If you use Facebook in a web browser on a laptop or desktop computer:
1 – Visit the Timeline of the first account your son wants to have deleted.
2 – Click the three dots on the far right side of the top menu bar.
3 – Click Find Support or Report Profile.
4 – Select Pretending to Be Someone from the list of available options and then select Me.
Note: I realize that in this case the unwanted accounts don’t actually fit the “Pretending to Be Someone” description since you created them as legitimate accounts at the time, but reporting them as such will likely get them taken down faster.
5 – Finish up by clicking Submit.
6 – Repeat the steps above for each of the other accounts that need to be closed.
7 – Ask a few of your Facebook friends to report the unwanted accounts as well. I’ve learned that the more people who report an account, the faster it usually gets taken.
If you use the Facebook app on a mobile device:
1 – Visit the Timeline of the first account your son wants to have deleted.
2 – Tap the three dots icon over on the right.
3 – Tap Find support or report profile.
4 – Tap Pretending to Be Someone.
Note: I realize that in this case the unwanted accounts don’t actually fit the “Pretending to Be Someone” description since you created them as legitimate accounts at the time, but reporting them as such will likely get them taken down faster.
5 – Tap Me.
6 – Tap Submit.
That’s all there is to it. A Facebook rep will take a look at the accounts and make a determination about whether they should be closed. If the accounts haven’t been updated in a while and/or they appear to be fake or abandoned they will be deleted.
I hope this helps, Darren. Good luck!
Bonus tip: This post explains how to protect your Facebook account from hackers.