Facebook Account Hacked and Deleted? Stop the Deletion

Your Facebook password stopped working, friends say your profile has vanished, and an email mentions a deletion you never asked for. Someone got into your account and told Facebook to delete it.

The short answer: a deletion request is usually not instant. Facebook holds it for a window, and if you log back in before that window closes, the deletion is cancelled. So the whole job is getting back into the account quickly, then making sure the hacker cannot do it again.

This guide explains how the deletion clock works, how to tell deletion apart from deactivation or a disabled account, the exact steps to regain access and cancel, and the scams aimed at people in this spot.

Last checked: 5 October 2026.

#Can You Recover a Facebook Account a Hacker Deleted?

Usually yes, if the deletion has not completed. Facebook's page on permanently deleting a profile says that if it has been less than 30 days since the deletion started, you can cancel it by logging in and clicking "Cancel deletion". It also says the number of days varies by region. After the window, Facebook says the account and its information are permanently deleted and cannot be retrieved. So start now: go to facebook.com/hacked on a device you have used for Facebook before, regain access, and cancel. Nobody outside Facebook, including AwareXone, can cancel a deletion for you or reverse a completed one.

#Deactivated, Scheduled for Deletion, Deleted or Disabled?

To friends, all four look the same. Each has its own route. Facebook describes the first three on its deactivating and deleting page and the last on its suspended or disabled accounts page.

If you can log in and Facebook shows an appeal screen instead of a deletion notice, you are dealing with a suspension, not a deletion. Facebook says you can appeal a suspension within 180 days, a period that also varies by region. Our guide to a permanently disabled Facebook account covers that route.

#How the Facebook Deletion Clock Works

Facebook's help pages describe the window in two ways. The detailed deletion page gives 30 days to cancel. A shorter summary on the deactivation and deletion page says Facebook delays deletion "a few days" after the request, and that logging back in during that time cancels it. Both say the window varies, so do not count on having the full 30 days. Act within the first few days if you possibly can.

• The clock starts when the deletion was requested, not when you noticed. A hacker may have done it days ago.
• Facebook says it can take up to 90 days from the start of deletion to remove everything you posted, and that during that time the information is not visible to other people. That is cleanup, not a second chance to cancel.
• Facebook says copies may stay in backup storage for disaster recovery or legal reasons. Those backups are not a way to get your account back.
• Facebook says your other profiles in the same Meta Account are not affected by the deletion.

#Step 1: Get Back In Through facebook.com/hacked

You cannot cancel a deletion without logging in, so access comes first. Facebook's page on recovering a hacked account says to visit facebook.com/hacked and, if you can, use a device you have used to log in before. Its hacked accounts hub gives the same instruction.

1. Pick the phone, tablet or computer you used most for Facebook. An old phone or a family laptop you logged in on also counts.
2. Open your usual browser on that device and type facebook.com/hacked yourself. Do not tap a link from a message.
3. Choose the option that matches what happened and follow the prompts.
4. If your password still works, log in normally. Facebook may take you straight to the deletion notice.
5. If you are asked to confirm your identity, do it only on facebook.com or in the Facebook app.

#If the Hacker Changed Your Email or Phone

Hackers often swap the contact details before requesting deletion, so reset codes go to them. Facebook's page on recovering without your email or phone covers this case.

• Search your old inbox, including spam, for a message from Facebook about an email change. Facebook says it sends the previous address a special link that reverses the change and secures the account.
• Check that the email came from Facebook. Its phishing page lists the only domains Meta writes from, including facebookmail.com, facebook.com and meta.com.
• If there is no such email, on a familiar device type facebook.com/login/identify and enter any email, phone number or username that may be on the account.
• Select "No longer have access to these?" (Facebook says you may see "Forgot account?" or "Recover" instead) and follow the prompts. The new contact details must be ones never used on the account before.

Our guide to a Facebook account hacked with the email and phone changed goes deeper. Here, speed matters: each day stuck on this step comes off the window.

#Step 2: Cancel the Deletion or Reactivate the Profile

Once you are logged in, Facebook's deletion page says to click "Cancel deletion". At the time of writing the notice appears when you log in during the window, but the wording can differ by app version and region.

If you do not see it, check Accounts Centre. Facebook's deactivation page describes a "Reactivation" option under Accounts Centre, "Personal details", then "Account ownership and control", and says it only appears when a profile is deactivated or scheduled for deletion. Facebook documents this path for additional profiles; on some accounts the menu says Meta Account instead of Accounts Centre.

#Step 3: Lock the Hacker Out So They Cannot Delete It Again

If the hacker still has a way in, they can request deletion again. Do these in order, the same day.

1. Secure your email first: new password, remove forwarding rules and recovery options you did not set, and sign out of other sessions. Whoever controls that inbox can reset Facebook.
2. Change your Facebook password to one you use nowhere else.
3. Remove any email address or phone number on the account that is not yours.
4. Open "Where you're logged in" under Password and security. Facebook's log out page shows how to select all sessions and log them out.
5. Turn on two-factor authentication. Facebook offers a security key, an authentication app or SMS codes, plus 10 recovery codes. Store those codes offline.
6. Check your Pages, groups and connected apps for admins or apps you do not recognise.

If the hacker used your account to message friends for money before deleting it, our guide to a hacked account messaging your friends covers what to tell them.

#Decision Path: What to Do Based on What You Still Have

• Your password still works: log in now and click "Cancel deletion". Then do Step 3.
• Password changed, but you still control the email on the account: reset the password from the login page, log in, cancel. Then Step 3.
• Email changed: look for Facebook's reversal email in the old inbox. If you find it, use the link. If not, go to facebook.com/hacked on a familiar device.
• Email and phone both changed, no familiar device: use facebook.com/login/identify and "No longer have access to these?". Prepare to confirm your identity.
• You see an appeal screen, not a deletion notice: the account is suspended or disabled. Follow the appeal prompt instead.
• More than 30 days have passed and you cannot log in: Facebook says the account cannot be retrieved. Move to damage control below.

#What You Lose If the Deletion Completes

Knowing this tells you what to protect while you keep trying. Facebook's deletion page lists:

• Photos, posts, videos and everything else you added are permanently deleted, and you cannot reactivate the profile.
• You can no longer use Messenger with that account.
• Facebook Login for other apps stops working. Facebook names Spotify and Pinterest as examples and says you may need to contact those apps to recover the accounts. Add an email login to each app now, while you can.
• Pages that only you control are deleted too. If you can reach a co-admin, ask them to keep full control of the Page.
• Messages you sent stay in your friends' inboxes, so a friend may still hold copies of photos or chats you care about.
• If you log in to Meta Quest with Facebook, Facebook says that information and your app purchases go as well.

#How to Spot a Recovery Scammer

People who post "akaun Facebook kena hack dan dipadam" or "Facebook 被盗 被删除" in public groups attract instant replies from so-called hackers. Real help looks very different. Check any offer against this list:

• They ask for your password, a login code, a recovery code or a code sent to your phone. That alone ends the conversation.
• They promise a result, or claim they can restore an account after deletion completed.
• They claim a contact inside Meta or a special tool that skips Facebook's checks.
• They want payment before looking at your situation, often by bank transfer or crypto.
• They message you first, from a profile with a name like "Meta Support" or "Recovery Expert".

Legitimate help works the other way round: someone looks at your case first, tells you honestly whether an official route is still open, uses only Facebook's own forms and flows, and never touches your codes. They also tell you up front that Facebook decides and that some accounts do not come back. Our article on fake Meta support scams shows the scripts in more detail.

#Mistakes That Waste the Deletion Window

• Waiting for Facebook to email you. Facebook does not cancel a deletion on your behalf; logging in does.
• Trying recovery on a new phone or a borrowed browser when a familiar device is sitting in a drawer.
• Making a new account to "keep your name". It does not stop the deletion and can confuse your recovery.
• Cancelling the deletion but leaving the hacker's email on the account.
• Paying a stranger who offers to stop it for you.

#If Money Was Lost or a Code Was Shared in Malaysia

If you paid a fake recovery service, or the hacker used your account to get money from friends, deal with the money first. The government's NSRC 997 page says to call 997 within 24 hours of discovering the scam so the authorities can try to block the accounts involved, then contact your bank and lodge a police report at the nearest station.

A fake Facebook login page or a phishing link can be reported to CyberSecurity Malaysia's Cyber999 centre by online form, email, phone or its app. If your phone suddenly shows no service while Facebook codes stop arriving, call your carrier from another phone and ask whether your SIM was replaced.

#When a Case Review Makes Sense

Most people can do everything above alone, and they should start straight away rather than wait for anyone. A second pair of eyes helps when the email, phone and familiar devices are all gone, when the account runs a business Page, or when you are close to the end of the window and every route has failed. SocialSafe by AwareXone, our recovery service, reviews the case first and tells you honestly whether an official route is still open; sometimes it is not, and we will say so. You can read how we approach Facebook account recovery, and our Trust Center sets out what we never ask for, starting with your password and codes.

#Frequently Asked Questions