How to Unlink Facebook and Instagram

Ready to reclaim individual control over your Facebook and Instagram profiles? Whether you're building separate brand identities or just want more privacy, unlinking your accounts is a straightforward process. This guide will walk you through exactly how to disconnect Facebook and Instagram, what happens when you do, and how to manage your content effectively once they’re separate.

Why Bother Unlinking Facebook and Instagram?

Connecting your Facebook and Instagram accounts offers undeniable convenience, like one-click logins and seamless cross-posting. But there are plenty of valid reasons why you might want to separate them. Understanding the "why" can help you ensure it's the right move for your social media strategy.

• Distinct Brand Identities: Your audience on Facebook might be completely different from your Instagram followers. Unlinking the accounts lets you tailor content, tone, and engagement strategies specifically for each platform, creating stronger, more authentic communities on both. A personal, photo-dump style on Instagram may not align with a professional networking presence on Facebook.
• Improved Privacy and Security: Limiting the connection between your accounts reduces the amount of data shared between them. If one account is ever compromised, keeping them separate can help prevent the issue from spreading to the other, adding a small but meaningful layer of security.
• Simplified Management for Marketers: If you manage multiple client accounts or business pages, accidental cross-posting can be a nightmare. Separating accounts for different brands or projects removes the risk of posting a client's Reel to your personal Facebook profile, enforcing a more deliberate and organized workflow.
• Troubleshooting Login and Account Issues: Sometimes, linked accounts create bugs or login loops. If you're having trouble accessing one account, disconnecting it from the other can often resolve persistent technical glitches that arise from a faulty sync.
• Stopping Automatic Sharing: The most common reason is simply wanting to stop content from automatically posting everywhere. You might want to share a raw, behind-the-scenes Story on Instagram without it also appearing on your more polished Facebook Page feed. Unlinking gives you that granular control back.

What Happens When You Unlink Your Accounts?

Disconnecting a building from its power source means the lights go out. Similarly, unlinking your accounts will disable the features that rely on that connection. Before you proceed, it’s important to know exactly what functionality you'll lose access to.

• Cross-Posting Will Stop: You will no longer be able to automatically share your Instagram posts, Stories, or Reels directly to your Facebook profile or page from the Instagram app. You'll need to post content to each platform manually.
• A Disconnected Inbox: Your Instagram Direct Messages (DMs) will disappear from your Facebook or Meta Business Suite inbox. You will have to check and reply to your Instagram messages directly within the Instagram app.
• Ads Management Changes: You won't be able to create and manage Instagram ads through the Facebook Ads Manager using the disconnected account. Advertising will need to be managed through Instagram's native promotion tools or re-linked to a Business Manager.
• Login Convenience is Gone: The ability to log in to Instagram using your Facebook credentials will be disabled. You will need to remember and use your specific Instagram password. If you forgot your password, you'll need to reset it.
• Synced Profile Information Will Freeze: Any synced information, like your name or profile picture, will no longer update automatically across both platforms. If you change your profile photo on Facebook, it won't change on Instagram.

The Step-by-Step Guide: How to Unlink Instagram and Facebook

Both Facebook and Instagram are now managed through the Meta Accounts Center. This is the central hub where you control all connected experiences. While you can start from either app, the flow will ultimately lead you to the same place. We’ll cover both methods below.

Method 1: Unlinking from the Instagram App (Recommended)

The Instagram app is often the quickest and most direct way to access the Accounts Center and manage your connections.

1. Open Instagram and go to your Profile. Tap your profile picture in the bottom-right corner.
2. Access the Settings menu. Tap the three horizontal lines (the "hamburger" menu) in the top-right corner, then select Settings and Privacy.
3. Navigate to the Accounts Center. At the very top of the Settings menu, you'll see the Meta Accounts Center. Tap on it.
4. Select "Accounts". Under the "Account settings" section, tap on Accounts. This will show you all the Facebook, Instagram, and Meta accounts you currently have linked.
5. Find the account to remove. Locate the Facebook account you want to unlink and tap the Remove button next to it.
6. Confirm the removal. A series of prompts will appear, explaining what will happen when you unlink the account (reminding you about losing cross-posting, etc.). Read them carefully and proceed by tapping Remove account and then Continue. Finally, confirm by tapping Remove [Your Facebook Name].

That’s it. Your accounts are now separate. You may be prompted to create a password for Instagram if you previously relied entirely on Facebook to log in.

Method 2: Unlinking from the Facebook App

If you're already on Facebook, you can start the process there. The steps are very similar, as they will also redirect you to the Meta Accounts Center.

1. Open the Facebook app and go to the Menu. Tap your profile picture or the three horizontal lines in the bottom-right (iOS) or top-right (Android) to open the main menu.
2. Go to Settings. Tap the gear icon or scroll down and select Settings & Privacy, then tap Settings.
3. Open the Accounts Center. Like on Instagram, the Meta Accounts Center will be at the top. Tap on it.
4. Select "Accounts". Inside the Accounts Center, find and tap on Accounts.
5. Find and Remove the Instagram Account. Locate the Instagram profile you wish to disconnect and tap the Remove button next to it.
6. Follow the prompts to confirm. Facebook will display the same warnings about what happens when you remove the account. Follow the on-screen instructions to finalize the unlinking process.

Just Want to Stop Sharing? A Lighter Approach

Maybe fully unlinking feels a bit drastic. If your only goal is to stop automatically sharing posts and Stories from Instagram to Facebook, you don't need to remove the account entirely. You can simply turn off the specific sharing settings.

Here’s how to do it:

1. Navigate to the Meta Accounts Center using either the Instagram or Facebook app (follow steps 1-3 from the instructions above).
2. Under "Account settings," tap on Connected experiences.
3. Select Sharing across profiles.
4. Choose the Instagram account you want to manage sharing from.
5. Under the "Automatically share" section, you'll see toggles for Your Instagram story and Your Instagram posts.
6. Toggle these settings off. Once disabled, your new posts and Stories will no longer be pushed to Facebook automatically, but your accounts will remain linked for easier logins and other integrated features.

Final Thoughts

Unlinking your Facebook and Instagram accounts gives you final say over your content strategy, allows for distinct brand voices, and enhances your privacy. The process is simple and completely reversible, ensuring you have the flexibility to manage your online presence exactly how you see fit.

Once your accounts are unlinked, the challenge of managing multiple separate platforms returns. Juggling manual posting, checking different inboxes for comments, and tracking performance across disjointed apps is exactly the chaos we designed Postbase to solve. You can bring all your accounts - Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, and more - into a single visual calendar to plan your content and rely on our rock-solid scheduling to post everywhere. All your comments and DMs land in one unified inbox, so you never miss a message, giving you streamlined control without forcing an unwanted connection.