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I "deleted" my account on Facebook about 7 years ago. This January they randomly reactivated it just like that. It's public and visible. I haven't logged in the

I "deleted" my account on Facebook about 7 years ago. This January they randomly reactivated it just like that. It's public and visible. I haven't logged in there, because that would just show them I want it back. I'm pretty sure this is in breach with their own terms. And maybe even illegal in the EU. I haven't had the time to take any action not am I sure what should I even do. Maybe report this to some EU watchdog?

kayoone 9y ago
absolutely illegal in the EU, learn more about their countless violations on http://europe-v-facebook.org/ http://europe-v-facebook.org/
blauditore 9y ago
Are you sure it's your account and not just a fake profile copying your data (by some spam bot)? Not sure how to verify this though. However, 7 years seems like a long time span for Spammers to wait and revive that data. You could try to use the report button and say it's a fake profile.
dhruvkar 9y ago
Almost the exact same timeline. I 'deleted' my account in 2010. My wife showed me my activated profile earlier this year. I logged in again and re-deleted it. But I somehow doubt it's actually gone.
dbrgn 9y ago
To avoid that kind of stuff, when I deleted my account a few years back, I used an automated script to delete all my posts. Then I went through my profile and replaced all fields with empty or no fake data. If they ever reactivate my account, there's not much left to see. By the way, I thought quitting Facebook was going to be hard. But I haven't regretted it a second. Same thing with Whatsapp.
- bhnmmhmd 9y ago
  Could you please share the script you used?
  - Tepix 9y ago
    There is a chrome extension: The F___book Post Manager https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/fbook-post-manager/ljfidlkcmdmmibngdfikhffffdmphjae https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/fbook-post-manager...
- simonswords82 9y ago
  I get Facebook but why did you ditch WhatsApp? If you don't get bogged down in groups it's just a slight upgrade on SMS no?
  - lugg 9y ago
    Guessing because Facebook owns WhatsApp now.
  - corn13read 9y ago
    Facebook owns whatsapp and can change the encryption keys at will without the conversation owners knowing.
    - Canada 9y ago
      If "Show security notifications" is enabled in security settings then they'd get caught, so I don't think Facebook is going to start doing that. The address book and metadata they have access to are more useful to them anyway.
      - tripzilch 9y ago
        except for all the false positives. every time someone gets a new phone in a group chat, someone has to ask "did you change your phone or is someone snooping at you", which creeps them out, because it's off by default, and so we ask less and ignore it, "probably changed their phone". it's terrible ux for security, it could have been much more transparent and actually encouraging proper security behaviour.
  - notspanishflu 9y ago
    It really grinds my gears when an honest question is downvoted here in HN of all places.
  - dbrgn 9y ago
    They still collect all the metadata. They know with whom you communicate, and how often. They know with whom you're in a group chat and the names of those groups. They know your profile picture. (Disclaimer: I'm a bit biased though since I'm affiliated with Threema. I think privacy in day to day communication is very important though, that was my reason for quitting.)
- benevol 9y ago
  > Then I went through my profile and replaced all fields with empty or no fake data. Facebook/WhatsApp is a gold mine for the NSA and the CIA (as well as others). I would be surprised if they ever deleted any data when you "update" a field. It seems far more likely that they keep 100% of all data ever entered and just display the latest entry of your "update history".
  - Shywim 9y ago
    I can confirm they keep old data, you can get a sample when you download your data archive in your Facebook settings.
  - kuschku 9y ago
    Not deleting data is a crime under EU law, which is interesting.
    - dogma1138 9y ago
      It is not a crime currently, and even under the GDPR it's not absolute, it also gives most companies an easy way out as they can deny requests based on "for exercising the right of freedom of expression and information;". https://gdpr-info.eu/art-17-gdpr/ https://gdpr-info.eu/art-17-gdpr/ Also "deletion" and "processing" are very vaguely defined terms. Data can be made inaccessible while complying with deletion, but more importantly data can be abstracted in a manner that it is accessible but still compliant with the right to be forgotten. I've worked on a few solutions for deep analytics this past year specifically designed to keep the data while being 100% compliant with the silly GDPR regulations including the right for erasure.
      - kuschku 9y ago
        The right to be forgotten is entirely separate. This is deleting data that you have contributed yourself. Any data you have submitted, you have to be able to revoke, and get removed.
        9y ago
- Foivos 9y ago
  Could you mention the alternative to WhatsApp that you use currently?
  - benevol 9y ago
    Not OP, but: Check out Signal and Telegram for example.
    - ekianjo 9y ago
      or even Matrix/Riot
      - majewsky 9y ago
        I'm using Matrix/Riot to communicate with two of my friends. It's really nice in general. But if you want to use E2E encryption, the key exchange is really tedious. Every few months, when someone gets a new phone or accidentally logs out of his account, we need to meet in person to compare fingerprints. Of course, even if you leave out the E2E encryption, it's still about as secure as Telegram's default settings. And with E2E encryption, it should be about as secure as Signal is (I'm not a cryptographer, though, so take this with a grain of salt). However, if the user is not experienced with key verification, I'd always recommend Signal over Riot.
        ekianjo 9y ago
        > But if you want to use E2E encryption, the key exchange is really tedious. Agree. But that part is still alpha in current release, so I hope they will improve over time.
  - corn13read 9y ago
    +10 for telegram
    - ekianjo 9y ago
      Telegram server is not open source right?
- wallace_f 9y ago
  I used a script to delete everything before deactivating. Unfortunately this caused some negative feelings from friends who I had unfriended when I decided to reactivate the account. In hindsight easily avoided mistake. Since Facebook accounts can be easily reactivated by accident, or phantom causes as users here pointed out, I would next time use a tool that sent a message to each friend explaining the situation before deletion.
  - kevin_thibedeau 9y ago
    > Unfortunately this caused some negative feelings from friends who I had unfriended Says volumes about how social media manipulates people with things that don't matter one whit IRL.
  - tripzilch 9y ago
    > Unfortunately this caused some negative feelings from friends that's Facebook's toxic behaviour right there. it's disgusting! purposefully (yes) driving a wedge and animosity between me and my friends because I dared to do something that you / your platform doesn't like?? fuck that. I've broken (irl) contact with people who (consistently) tried that. this is textbook toxic behaviour and psychological manipulation, how does anyone put up with this shit.
- JoshMnem 9y ago
  Are there still scripts that will delete all Facebook posts? I'm not sure if that works any more.
- ghughes 9y ago
  > To avoid that kind of stuff, when I deleted my account a few years back, I used an automated script to delete all my posts. Worse still, they've gone out of their way to make this as difficult as possible. There's no bulk delete in any of their apps or API. We all know why.
- zeep 9y ago
  If they can undelete your account, can't they also undelete all your posts?
k-mcgrady 9y ago
Have you considered your account details were compromised and somebody else logged in and reactivated it in the process?
- badthingfactory 9y ago
  This was my immediate thought. Mine has been deactivated for 4+ years and this hasn't happened.
- PrimeDirective 9y ago
  Yes, I did consider that it was hacked or something. But that still means the account was/is restorable and not actually deleted like they lead me to believe. I don't think anyone has logged in, since none of the details have been changed.
darekkay 9y ago
I've had the same problem with Myspace, 3 years ago. They restored my deleted account and they wouldn't let me log in. Regaining access was much harder than expected [1]. [1] https://darekkay.com/blog/recently-checked-myspace-account/ https://darekkay.com/blog/recently-checked-myspace-account/
deleted 9y ago
[deleted]
amptorn 9y ago
Did you have a weak password or one which you used elsewhere, where it could have been leaked?

kayoone 9y ago

absolutely illegal in the EU, learn more about their countless violations on http://europe-v-facebook.org/ http://europe-v-facebook.org/

blauditore 9y ago

Are you sure it's your account and not just a fake profile copying your data (by some spam bot)? Not sure how to verify this though. However, 7 years seems like a long time span for Spammers to wait and revive that data. You could try to use the report button and say it's a fake profile.

dhruvkar 9y ago

Almost the exact same timeline. I 'deleted' my account in 2010. My wife showed me my activated profile earlier this year. I logged in again and re-deleted it. But I somehow doubt it's actually gone.

dbrgn 9y ago

To avoid that kind of stuff, when I deleted my account a few years back, I used an automated script to delete all my posts. Then I went through my profile and replaced all fields with empty or no fake data. If they ever reactivate my account, there's not much left to see. By the way, I thought quitting Facebook was going to be hard. But I haven't regretted it a second. Same thing with Whatsapp.

bhnmmhmd 9y ago
Could you please share the script you used?
- Tepix 9y ago
  There is a chrome extension: The F___book Post Manager https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/fbook-post-manager/ljfidlkcmdmmibngdfikhffffdmphjae https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/fbook-post-manager...
simonswords82 9y ago
I get Facebook but why did you ditch WhatsApp? If you don't get bogged down in groups it's just a slight upgrade on SMS no?
- lugg 9y ago
  Guessing because Facebook owns WhatsApp now.
- corn13read 9y ago
  Facebook owns whatsapp and can change the encryption keys at will without the conversation owners knowing.
  - Canada 9y ago
    If "Show security notifications" is enabled in security settings then they'd get caught, so I don't think Facebook is going to start doing that. The address book and metadata they have access to are more useful to them anyway.
    - tripzilch 9y ago
      except for all the false positives. every time someone gets a new phone in a group chat, someone has to ask "did you change your phone or is someone snooping at you", which creeps them out, because it's off by default, and so we ask less and ignore it, "probably changed their phone". it's terrible ux for security, it could have been much more transparent and actually encouraging proper security behaviour.
- notspanishflu 9y ago
  It really grinds my gears when an honest question is downvoted here in HN of all places.
- dbrgn 9y ago
  They still collect all the metadata. They know with whom you communicate, and how often. They know with whom you're in a group chat and the names of those groups. They know your profile picture. (Disclaimer: I'm a bit biased though since I'm affiliated with Threema. I think privacy in day to day communication is very important though, that was my reason for quitting.)
benevol 9y ago
> Then I went through my profile and replaced all fields with empty or no fake data. Facebook/WhatsApp is a gold mine for the NSA and the CIA (as well as others). I would be surprised if they ever deleted any data when you "update" a field. It seems far more likely that they keep 100% of all data ever entered and just display the latest entry of your "update history".
- Shywim 9y ago
  I can confirm they keep old data, you can get a sample when you download your data archive in your Facebook settings.
- kuschku 9y ago
  Not deleting data is a crime under EU law, which is interesting.
  - dogma1138 9y ago
    It is not a crime currently, and even under the GDPR it's not absolute, it also gives most companies an easy way out as they can deny requests based on "for exercising the right of freedom of expression and information;". https://gdpr-info.eu/art-17-gdpr/ https://gdpr-info.eu/art-17-gdpr/ Also "deletion" and "processing" are very vaguely defined terms. Data can be made inaccessible while complying with deletion, but more importantly data can be abstracted in a manner that it is accessible but still compliant with the right to be forgotten. I've worked on a few solutions for deep analytics this past year specifically designed to keep the data while being 100% compliant with the silly GDPR regulations including the right for erasure.
    - kuschku 9y ago
      The right to be forgotten is entirely separate. This is deleting data that you have contributed yourself. Any data you have submitted, you have to be able to revoke, and get removed.
      - 9y ago
Foivos 9y ago
Could you mention the alternative to WhatsApp that you use currently?
- benevol 9y ago
  Not OP, but: Check out Signal and Telegram for example.
  - ekianjo 9y ago
    or even Matrix/Riot
    - majewsky 9y ago
      I'm using Matrix/Riot to communicate with two of my friends. It's really nice in general. But if you want to use E2E encryption, the key exchange is really tedious. Every few months, when someone gets a new phone or accidentally logs out of his account, we need to meet in person to compare fingerprints. Of course, even if you leave out the E2E encryption, it's still about as secure as Telegram's default settings. And with E2E encryption, it should be about as secure as Signal is (I'm not a cryptographer, though, so take this with a grain of salt). However, if the user is not experienced with key verification, I'd always recommend Signal over Riot.
      - ekianjo 9y ago
        > But if you want to use E2E encryption, the key exchange is really tedious. Agree. But that part is still alpha in current release, so I hope they will improve over time.
- corn13read 9y ago
  +10 for telegram
  - ekianjo 9y ago
    Telegram server is not open source right?
wallace_f 9y ago
I used a script to delete everything before deactivating. Unfortunately this caused some negative feelings from friends who I had unfriended when I decided to reactivate the account. In hindsight easily avoided mistake. Since Facebook accounts can be easily reactivated by accident, or phantom causes as users here pointed out, I would next time use a tool that sent a message to each friend explaining the situation before deletion.
- kevin_thibedeau 9y ago
  > Unfortunately this caused some negative feelings from friends who I had unfriended Says volumes about how social media manipulates people with things that don't matter one whit IRL.
- tripzilch 9y ago
  > Unfortunately this caused some negative feelings from friends that's Facebook's toxic behaviour right there. it's disgusting! purposefully (yes) driving a wedge and animosity between me and my friends because I dared to do something that you / your platform doesn't like?? fuck that. I've broken (irl) contact with people who (consistently) tried that. this is textbook toxic behaviour and psychological manipulation, how does anyone put up with this shit.
JoshMnem 9y ago
Are there still scripts that will delete all Facebook posts? I'm not sure if that works any more.
ghughes 9y ago
> To avoid that kind of stuff, when I deleted my account a few years back, I used an automated script to delete all my posts. Worse still, they've gone out of their way to make this as difficult as possible. There's no bulk delete in any of their apps or API. We all know why.
zeep 9y ago
If they can undelete your account, can't they also undelete all your posts?

k-mcgrady 9y ago

Have you considered your account details were compromised and somebody else logged in and reactivated it in the process?

badthingfactory 9y ago
This was my immediate thought. Mine has been deactivated for 4+ years and this hasn't happened.
PrimeDirective 9y ago
Yes, I did consider that it was hacked or something. But that still means the account was/is restorable and not actually deleted like they lead me to believe. I don't think anyone has logged in, since none of the details have been changed.

darekkay 9y ago

I've had the same problem with Myspace, 3 years ago. They restored my deleted account and they wouldn't let me log in. Regaining access was much harder than expected [1]. [1] https://darekkay.com/blog/recently-checked-myspace-account/ https://darekkay.com/blog/recently-checked-myspace-account/

deleted 9y ago

[deleted]

amptorn 9y ago

Did you have a weak password or one which you used elsewhere, where it could have been leaked?