The difference between deactivating and deleting a facebook account?

If you deactivate your account:
  • You can reactivate whenever you want.
  • People can’t see your Timeline or search for you.
  • Some info may remain visible (ex: messages you sent).
If you delete your account:
  • You can’t regain access once it’s deleted.
  • We delay deletion a few days after it’s requested. A deletion request is cancelled if you log back into your Facebook account during this time.
  • It may take up to 90 days to delete data stored in backup systems. Your info isn’t accessible on Facebook during this time.
  • Some things aren’t stored in your account. For example, a friend may have messages from you after deletion.
  • Copies of some material (ex: log records) may remain in our database but are disassociated from personal identifiers.