39 Celebrities Who Quit Social Media (And The Ones Who Never Looked Back)

With a massive Instagram following of 67 million and a public romance with co-star Zendaya, Holland was no stranger to public scrutiny. On August 15, 2022, he announced a hiatus from social media due to mental health concerns, stating: "I have taken a break from social media for my mental health because I find Instagram and Twitter to be overstimulating, to be overwhelming." He then endorsed Stem4, a prominent youth mental health charity, and has since utilized his social platforms to raise awareness for the organization.

Emma Stone has chosen to abstain from all social media platforms as long as she remains a public figure. While she was active on several platforms before her skyrocketing fame, she has since deleted her online presence and refused to return.

Comedian and actor Jim Carrey announced his departure from Twitter on November 29, 2022, sharing a cartoon based on his painting of a lighthouse keeper and expressing his love for his followers.

In 2009, Keira Knightley opened a Twitter account to connect with her fan base. However, the renowned actress never really got to use the platform. She confessed to Insider that the social media app creeped her out. Ever since then, the Atonement star has not only avoided social media but has no digital presence whatsoever.

Adele had to step away from Twitter in 2012 after sharing a photo of her infant son, which led to some people sending death threats against her child. Currently, Adele is back on social media.

In the summer of 2018, Miley Cyrus, without any explanation, wiped her social media profiles clean. While some speculated this was in anticipation of a surprise album, a source close to Cyrus shared with Entertainment Tonight that there was no hidden or exciting reason for her social media cleanup — she simply needed a break.

Early in 2020, the hip-hop artist Lizzo announced she was stepping away from Twitter due to the overwhelming presence of internet trolls. Lizzo, known for confronting her critics on the platform, stated she would return "when she feels like it." She re-emerged on Twitter in August 2021, coinciding with the launch of her single Rumors, featuring Cardi B.

Blake Lively completely cleaned out her Instagram content in 2018, removing every picture and unfollowing everyone, including her spouse Ryan Reynolds. This sparked anxiety among fans, only to be relieved when it was revealed to be a marketing strategy. She came back with an enigmatic post about a woman named "Emily," dropping hints about her upcoming movie A Simple Favor, where she played a character by that name who mysteriously disappears.

In 2017, Selena Gomez shut down her Instagram after it was infiltrated by hackers who posted explicit images of her former partner Justin Bieber. Following the restoration of her account, she resumed her online presence. Still, she began a routine of uninstalling the Instagram app from her phone every week for her mental well-being. She now maintains an active presence on the platform and boasts over 418 million followers.

It's uncertain why the singer of God is a Woman chose to leave Twitter in 2021. However, rumors suggest that relentless scrutiny of her personal relationships and online trolling were the driving factors behind her decision.

After his engagement with Ariana Grande ended, Pete Davidson faced a barrage of criticism from fans on social media, leading him to leave. In an interview with Insider, he mentioned that the internet can often be an "evil place."

In 2014, the singer disappeared from Instagram due to a mistake made by the platform itself. Even though Instagram was the one to deactivate her account, Rihanna didn't restore it right away. She reappeared on the platform on November 1, 2014.

On an episode of the Yahoo News podcast "Skullduggery" in April 2019, the US congresswoman from New York declared she had quit Facebook and was reducing her activity on Instagram and Twitter. "I gave up on it. We still sort of have accounts on it," she revealed on the podcast. She stated that "social media poses a public health risk to everybody," contributing to issues like depression, anxiety, and addiction.

The 83 actor Saqib Saleem abandoned Twitter, citing bullying and baseless hatred. In his farewell note, he expressed his disappointment: "When we met for the first time, you were lovely. A great platform to express feelings, gather knowledge and understand many different points of view. But, of late you seem to have gotten lost in all the hate everyone is so ready to throw at each other, a place full of bullies, a place where abusing people is a normal code of conduct."

In June 2018, Millie Bobby Brown, the famed actress from Stranger Things, terminated her Twitter account. This decision was a response to an unusual Twitter trend that wrongly associated her with homophobic captions over harmless images. Some argued the trend was merely a joke and that the originators were part of the LGBT+ community. However, Brown still chose to withdraw from Twitter.

After several months of racist harassment from some Star Wars fans, Kelly Marie Tran, who portrayed Rose Tico in Star Wars: The Last Jedi, erased all her Instagram photos in June 2018. Despite reactivating her account, she has yet to upload any posts.

Taylor Swift removed all content from her social media platforms during the summer of 2017, but it was all part of a marketing strategy to introduce her Reputation album.

Ed Sheeran temporarily distanced himself from social media and his work life in December 2015. He made the announcement on Instagram, stating, "I've had such an amazing ride over the last five years but I find myself seeing the world through a screen and not my eyes so I'm taking this opportunity of me not having to be anywhere or do anything to travel the world and see everything I missed." He has since returned and continues to share moments of his life, including those of his cats, who now have their own Instagram account.

The actor, known for his role in Laal Singh Chaddha, was previously a frequent Twitter user and even ventured into Instagram for a brief period. However, after his birthday in 2020, Khan announced his indefinite exit from social media to "drop the pretense."

Before becoming the Duchess of Sussex, Meghan Markle was quite active on Instagram and even ran a lifestyle blog named The Tig. However, after the public announcement of her engagement to Prince Harry, she erased all traces of her personal online presence. Later, Markle and Prince Harry jointly managed an official Instagram account under the title The Duke and Duchess of Sussex, which has been abandoned since March 2020.

Gold Olympic medalist Gabby Douglas has dealt with an unstable rapport with social media. In a post made in August 2022, Douglas confessed she was battling with mental health issues and required some distance from social media to deal with the matter properly. This heartfelt note was greeted with encouragement from her online friends and followers.

After a surge of popularity following his successful track, Someone You Loved, Lewis Capaldi felt the strain of social media and opted to step away to concentrate on his forthcoming album. His departure from platforms like Instagram and Twitter was announced in a typically playful post. However, the Scottish singer has since returned to these platforms.

Despite being famous for her active Twitter presence, Chrissy Teigen has also had her share of trolls and cyberbullying to deal with. In 2014, she took a break from the platform due to negative responses to her tweets addressing a shooting incident and gun violence. She has since returned to Twitter.

Nicki Minaj parted ways with Twitter in 2012 due to the online abuse she had been receiving. "Like seriously, it's but so much a person can take. Good f***ing bye." Despite this, she returned to the platform a week later.

Daisy Ridley, renowned for her role in Star Wars, withdrew from Instagram in 2016 following criticism for her stance on gun control. Despite previous statements indicating she may never return to Instagram, she surprised fans by resurfacing in April 2022 with a quirky photo of herself in laser-style glasses while enjoying tea. Her comeback caption read: "Coming out of social media hibernation refreshed, recharged, and ready for what I'm calling my 'Year of Yes'. (And that's the tea.)"

Sonakshi Sinha, once an active Twitter user known for her sharp comebacks to online trolls, deactivated her account. Despite her reputation for never shying away from a confrontation, the actress felt overwhelmed and decided to withdraw from her 15.9 million followers, noting that "The first step to protecting your sanity is to stay away from negativity."

Josh McDermitt gained fame in 2014 following his role in The Walking Dead. He chose to abandon social media due to cyberbullying. The star was on the receiving end of numerous death threats from the series' fans after his character, Eugene Porter, allied with the show's iconic antagonist, Negan.

The comedian Leslie Jones was forced to leave Twitter due to racist abuse from right-wing trolls. She made a return to the platform in 2016.

Iggy Azalea temporarily left Twitter in early 2015 after facing body-shaming over her beach photos. Before her hiatus, she tweeted, "Just got back from a great vacation, came online and saw apparently it's shocking and unheard of to be a woman and have cellulite." She later returned and now has a following of over 7 million people.

In November 2020, Travis Scott temporarily deactivated his Instagram account, around the same time as the US election. Six days later, Scott reappeared on Instagram to announce his partnership with Sony and the PS5.

Supermodel Gigi Hadid decided to deactivate her Twitter account due to increasing hate and bigotry on the platform, which she said was becoming "more and more of a cesspool of hate & bigotry, and it's not a place I want to be a part of." She expressed regret about the decision to her fans. "Only sorry to the fans, who I've loved connecting with for a decade via Twitter, but I can't say it's a safe place for anyone, nor a social platform that will do more good than harm."

After earning fame through her role as Alex Dunphy in Modern Family, Ariel Winter was often subjected to negativity on her social media platforms, particularly Twitter. She expressed a need for a break to take a breath and enjoy herself without criticism. She later came back.

While Zayn Malik is active on Twitter currently, there was a time in 2012 when he decided to delete his account. He cited negative opinions and daily hate as the reason for his reduced activity on Twitter. Malik urged his fans with kind words to reach out to him via the One Direction account.

In response to continuous racist slurs from Twitter users, Normani Kordei of Fifth Harmony decided to take a hiatus from the platform. Numerous celebrities took to Twitter to express their support and affection for her decision.

Kendall Jenner took a brief hiatus from Instagram for a week in late 2017, citing dependency issues as the reason during a chat with Ellen DeGeneres. She described the app as the first and last thing she checked daily, leading her to want to take some time off.

Over the summer of 2016, Justin Bieber deactivated his Instagram account due to negative comments aimed at his then-girlfriend Sofia Richie. He made a return to the platform in February 2017.

In August 2016, Azealia Banks deleted her Facebook, citing her exhaustion from the constant monitoring of her words and actions and pressure to conform to certain behavior. However, her hiatus from social media didn't last long, and she soon returned to the platforms.

In 2019's summer, Demi Lovato made it public through Instagram Stories that she planned to retreat from social media for a while. "Taking a break for a while. Be kind," she posted. The move to distance herself from the web followed her decision to stand up for her new manager, Scooter Braun, whom she partnered with in May 2019, amid his infamous dispute with Taylor Swift.

Hailey Bieber vanished from Instagram at the end of 2016 without giving any specific reason. Around the same time, she confirmed to her followers that she had also removed her Snapchat account. Since then, she has made a return to Instagram.