Digital Declutter: A Guide to Cleaning Up Your Tech

One of the main advantages of organizing your digital space is the improvement in device performance and speed. When your computer, smartphone or other device is overloaded with unused apps, large files and excessive notifications, it can slow down and become unresponsive. By decluttering your device, you can free up valuable storage space and optimize its performance, allowing for smoother multitasking and faster load times.

We also all know how easy it is to get distracted by endless notifications, emails and social media updates. By decluttering your digital space, you can create a more focused and productive environment. Removing unnecessary apps and disabling notifications from non-essential sources can help you stay focused on the task at hand and minimize interruptions.

From succinct snapshots of daily life to rapid-fire discourse to silly memes, social media transcends geographical boundaries while fostering communities and sparking conversations. Yet, the abundance of social media accounts can add up and start taking their toll on your digital experience. Decluttering social media accounts may help contribute to:

• Reduced distractions
• Improved mental healthSee Disclosure ¹
• Protecting privacy and security
• Enhanced productivity

In essence, decluttering your social media accounts is about reclaiming ownership of your digital space and creating a healthier, more fulfilling online experience.

Before learning how to delete your Instagram account, ensure you've backed up any photos or videos you want to keep, as deleting your account will permanently remove all your content, followers and profile information. If you’re wondering how much storage space you need for photos, most devices offer photo clouds that can handle libraries of images.

Here’s how to permanently delete your Instagram account:

• On the web or in the app, access your account settings and scroll down until you find the option labeled “Delete Your Account.”
• Select a reason for deleting your account from the prompt and re-enter your password to confirm your identity.
• Permanently delete your account. If you ever want to create a new Instagram account, you will have to sign up again from scratch.

Learning how to delete your Facebook account involves a few steps, and like Instagram, it's a permanent action. So, ensure that you’ve downloaded any data you want to keep before deleting. Here’s how to delete your Facebook account:

• On the web or app, access your account settings and look for the section labeled “Your Facebook Information” and then select the “Deactivation or Deletion” option.
• Select the “Delete Account” option to begin the process of permanently deleting your Facebook account.
• Facebook will then prompt you to confirm your decision. After confirmation, your account will be deactivated.

After not logging into your Facebook account for 30 days, it will be permanently deleted. If you decide you still want your account within those initial 30 days of deactivation, all you have to do is log back into your Facebook account.

Deleting apps from your devices can help free up storage space, declutter your home screen and improve performance. It’s also a straightforward process. Here’s a general guide on how to delete apps on various devices:

• How to delete an app on an iPhone and how to delete an app on an iPad. Hold the app you want to delete until the app icon starts wiggling and a small “X” or check icon appears in the top-left corner. Tap the “X” icon, confirm deletion and press the home button or swipe up from the bottom of the screen.
• How to delete an app on an Android. Look for the app you want to delete in the “Apps” or “Applications” sections of your settings. Select the app and click the “Uninstall” or “Remove” option and confirm the completion to uninstall the app.
• How to delete an app on a computer (Windows). Open the control panel of the PC or Windows laptop, select “Programs” or “Programs and Features” and select the app to be deleted. Choose the “Uninstall” or “Change/Remove” option and start the uninstallation process.
• How to delete an app on a Mac. Launch the Finder app, click “Applications” and select the app you’re going to delete. Click and drag the app icon to the Trash icon or right-click the app and select “Move to Trash.” Finally, empty your trash bin and the app will be permanently deleted.

Deleting the browsing history on your devices helps preserve privacy and security online. By removing traces of websites visited, searches made and online activities performed, you can prevent unauthorized access to sensitive information while also freeing up storage. Here’s how to delete your browsing history:

• Open your web browser of choice and look for the settings menu.
• Navigate to the “History” or “Privacy and Security” section and click the “Clear Browsing Data” or other similar option.
• Choose the types of data you want to delete. This can include browsing history, cookies, cached images and other files. This is how to clear cache on a phone and how to clear cache on a computer.
• Some browsers allow you to specify the time range for which you want to delete browsing data, such as the past hour, day, week or all time. Choose the appropriate time range for you.
• Confirm your action and click the option to “Clear Data” or “Delete.” You may need to restart your browser for the changes to take effect.

In addition to saving more space on your device and improving performance, freeing yourself from the burden of an overflowing inbox can help alleviate stress and anxiety. Cleaning out your inbox can be a liberating act of decluttering, akin to clearing physical space in a cluttered room. To stay on top of your emails, you can:

• Set labels and filters to organize incoming emails.
• Regularly unsubscribe from newsletters and promotional emails you no longer find useful.
• Archive important emails to specific folders.
• Set aside specific times of the day to check and respond to emails.

It’s also good practice to have internet security software installed on your device, because you never know where a click from an email might take you.