If you’ve ever been a fan of the popular website BuzzFeed, you may have chosen to make your own BuzzFeed account. Having a BuzzFeed account allows you to comment on articles and thus engage with the site in a more interactive way.
BuzzFeed accounts allow users to participate in the platform’s social community as well. Through the community, BuzzFeed allows users with accounts to submit their own posts and quizzes. BuzzFeed’s editors review guest submissions and publish those that are fit for the site.
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However, for various reasons, you may one day wish to delete your BuzzFeed account. Maybe you no longer have the same feelings or thoughts about a certain topic that you had when you submitted guest posts and you want to remove them.
It’s also possible you’re trying to delete the BuzzFeed account of a close loved one who passed away. Knowing what to do when someone dies can be confusing if they also had an online or digital “identity.”
Keep reading to learn more. Whether you're deleting your own BuzzFeed account or that of a deceased loved one, this guide will help.
How to Delete Your Own BuzzFeed Account
Deleting your own BuzzFeed account is a relatively easy process. All you have to do is follow these basic steps:
Step 1: Log in
Begin by logging into your account. This must be done on a desktop computer. You won’t be able to delete your account if you access it from a mobile device.
Step 2: Select “User Settings”
Once you’ve logged into your account, head to the User Settings menu.
Step 3: Delete
Now all you have to do is select “Delete My Account,” and you’re all set.
However, there are some things you should know before deleting your BuzzFeed account. They include the following:
- Deletion is permanent: You will not be able to retrieve your account once you delete it. Yes, you can make a new account, but you will not be able to access the content from the old one. Consider if there is any content you would like to save before choosing to delete your account permanently.
- Buzzfeed will delete your posts: BuzzFeed removes your username from public view and deletes your posts when you delete your account. For compliance purposes, BuzzFeed will keep copies of your posts internally, but readers of the site will not be able to view them. However, while your username will not be visible, your comments will be unless you choose to edit or delete them first. You won’t be able to edit or delete your comments after deleting your account.
- BuzzFeed will not unsubscribe you from email lists: You will still receive emails from any email lists you subscribed to through BuzzFeed. You can find the instructions regarding how to unsubscribe from them in the emails themselves. Additionally, Buzzfeed will not delete your accounts on other BuzzFeed platforms, such as Tasty.
How to Cancel a Deceased Loved One’s BuzzFeed Account
Deleting the BuzzFeed account of someone who died may be slightly trickier than deleting your own, or it can be very easy. It all depends on what type of information you have access to. The process involves the following key steps:
Step 1: Follow all the steps in the previous section
Deleting a BuzzFeed account for a deceased loved one could be a simple process if you already have access to their account. For example, perhaps a loved one knew they were going to pass away soon and entrusted you with deleting their account as one of your executor duties. To ensure this would be easy to do, they might have shared their login information.
If so, all you have to do to delete their BuzzFeed account is to follow all the steps in the section explaining how to delete your own account. All you need is your loved one’s email address and password.
Tip: If you and a loved one share passwords so you can delete each other’s accounts if one of you dies, consider using a password manager tool. This can help you more easily keep track of all your passwords.
Deleting someone’s BuzzFeed account after their death won’t be quite this easy if you don’t have access to their login info. That said, you may still be able to delete their account if you know they wanted you to.
Step 2: Retrieve their password
It’s possible you don’t know a deceased loved one’s BuzzFeed password, but you do know their email password. In this case, you can simply go to BuzzFeed's sign-in page and click on the “I forgot my password” link. Provide the email address of your lost loved one, and you’ll promptly receive an email with a new password. You can then go and follow the steps above.
It’s also worth noting that BuzzFeed offers users the option to log into their accounts via Facebook, Google, and Apple. This is a common feature of many login pages now.
When a person chooses one of these options, they don’t need to provide a password to log into an account. As long as they are currently logged into the account they chose, BuzzFeed will automatically redirect them to their account.
Be aware, they don’t currently need to be using the service of their choice to log in with it. For example, if someone never logged out of their Facebook account the last time they used it, they don’t need to have Facebook open to access their BuzzFeed account through it.
It’s possible your deceased loved one often chose this option when logging into their BuzzFeed account. Give it a try. You may already have easy access to their account without knowing it.
Step 3: Contact BuzzFeed
If all else fails, you can contact BuzzFeed directly and explain the situation. You may email communityhelp@buzzfeed.com or send a letter to the following address:
BuzzFeed, Inc.
111 E. 18th Street
13th Floor
New York, NY 10003
The recipient of your letter or email will direct you to a member of the support staff more qualified to handle your request. They’ll ask that you offer proof of your loved one’s death. If you’re not sure how to do so, check out our guide on how to get a death certificate.
According to BuzzFeed, the way in which they handle these circumstances varies based on a number of factors. First, you’ll need to prove that you had a relationship with the deceased that leaves you responsible for managing their digital afterlife. Essentially, you’ll have to prove you are the executor of their estate.
BuzzFeed’s team may also want proof (or at least some form of reasonably strong evidence) that your loved one wanted you to delete their account after their passing. If they made any mention of this in a will or similar official document, BuzzFeed will of course comply with your request. If you can’t provide that type of documentation, they may still let you provide a more informal explanation regarding why you’re confident they would want their account taken down.
This isn’t to suggest BuzzFeed will be completely disinclined to delete an account if you can’t show proof or strong evidence that it should be. BuzzFeed’s team wishes to respect the families of account holders who’ve passed away.
They simply also want to respect the account holders themselves. Someone may have been quite proud of their contributions to the BuzzFeed community. Deleting their account could go against what they would have wanted. You need to sufficiently explain why you don’t believe this to be the case.
Deleting a BuzzFeed Account: Usually an Easy Process
Deleting your own BuzzFeed account isn’t a chore at all. Deleting a deceased loved one’s account may be more challenging, but it doesn’t have to be.
Sources:
- “Consent Preferences.” Consent Preferences, BuzzFeed, Inc., 2021. buzzfeed.com
- “Help and FAQ.” Help, BuzzFeed, Inc., 2021. buzzfeed.com