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I did not know they really had this as an option. I'm glad to hear it's available. I'd like to know how thorough they are with deleting you, however. With stor

I did not know they really had this as an option. I'm glad to hear it's available. I'd like to know how thorough they are with deleting you, however. With stories of "ghost" profiles that they build on individuals who don't have accounts (and/or are not logged in), I would be surprised if they actually delete everything they know about you.

cVwEq 9y ago
Hard to say what data they still retain and for how long. However, the sooner you delete your FB account, the less data FB is likely to have on you in 5 or 10 years, assuming data retention periods, etc. I found the process easy to complete using the directions in the link. It was quite liberating to have my account deleted, actually. Don't miss it at all, although it left some friends and my mom scratching their heads.
roy3jake 9y ago
I'm really glad they allow you to do this
HoochTHX 9y ago
The option is a lie, I did this the fall after the Snowden releases, and then this past summer decided to see if the delete actually happened after the two week period that was part of that process then, everything from my account was still there, nothing was deleted.
- erebus_rex 9y ago
  fwiw I did this and it worked for me. It can take more than two weeks and if you login the process is interrupted. A good bet is to ask your friends when your messages appear as "facebook user". After that my login didn't work anymore.
0xcde4c3db 9y ago
Most of the big services whose stuff I've actually read have a clause somewhere in the ToS or privacy policy saying that "deleted" data is not necessarily deleted from all copies in their possession. I suspect the primary purpose of this is to allow them to have append-only or offline backups, since that's incompatible with users being able to reach in and nuke all their stuff.
- smichel17 9y ago
  At the time when I deleted my Facebook account, in Fall 2014, the ToS said that if I delete (not deactivate) my account, then Facebook must delete my data "within a reasonable amount of time". I have not read the Facebook ToS since then; assuming that line remains the same, if they do not delete your data and you decide to sue, it's about whose lawyers cam make a better case for whether a reasonable amount of time has passed.

cVwEq 9y ago

Hard to say what data they still retain and for how long. However, the sooner you delete your FB account, the less data FB is likely to have on you in 5 or 10 years, assuming data retention periods, etc. I found the process easy to complete using the directions in the link. It was quite liberating to have my account deleted, actually. Don't miss it at all, although it left some friends and my mom scratching their heads.

roy3jake 9y ago

I'm really glad they allow you to do this

HoochTHX 9y ago

The option is a lie, I did this the fall after the Snowden releases, and then this past summer decided to see if the delete actually happened after the two week period that was part of that process then, everything from my account was still there, nothing was deleted.

erebus_rex 9y ago
fwiw I did this and it worked for me. It can take more than two weeks and if you login the process is interrupted. A good bet is to ask your friends when your messages appear as "facebook user". After that my login didn't work anymore.

0xcde4c3db 9y ago

Most of the big services whose stuff I've actually read have a clause somewhere in the ToS or privacy policy saying that "deleted" data is not necessarily deleted from all copies in their possession. I suspect the primary purpose of this is to allow them to have append-only or offline backups, since that's incompatible with users being able to reach in and nuke all their stuff.

smichel17 9y ago
At the time when I deleted my Facebook account, in Fall 2014, the ToS said that if I delete (not deactivate) my account, then Facebook must delete my data "within a reasonable amount of time". I have not read the Facebook ToS since then; assuming that line remains the same, if they do not delete your data and you decide to sue, it's about whose lawyers cam make a better case for whether a reasonable amount of time has passed.