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Probably (maybe?) not intentional, but suspiciously timed. Presumably off-boarding from Facebook looks a bit like a funnel, where every additional hurdle means

Probably (maybe?) not intentional, but suspiciously timed. Presumably off-boarding from Facebook looks a bit like a funnel, where every additional hurdle means more people will bail on their original intended action. I nuked my facebook account a couple years back and I remember eye rolling at the number of steps. And then there was the waiting period where they’d keep my account around for some number of days or weeks just in case I decided to come back. Easier to buy a gun at a gun show than do something truly grave like get rid of a social media account.

existencebox 9y ago
Hey, question for you, admittedly slightly tangential. I've been a dev for a few user facing products that stored customer created content and offered account deletion. These sites weren't specifically social, and I always thought offering a "we don't hard delete for N days" (with reasonably short N) was a user friendly option, in case of accidental deletion or realizing recovery of certain assets was needed. Would you have an issue with this if the rest of the process wasn't dark-patterened? (e.g. if it was a clear single button "Delete account, type account name to confirm, OK, your stuff is going to be hard gone in a week") I'm curious as to where that line would be for you, since I usually consider well towards the "make options blatantly transparent and easy to use" and to the "allow users control of their account" side of things.
- TheSpiceIsLife 9y ago
  I recently nuked my email account by accident because their Close Account thingo is just 'enter password' > click button to the right, which is the identical process for . unlocking the 'Password & Security' settings 'enter password' > click button to the right, only the close account option is at the bottom of the page. It was late, I was tired and not paying attention. I've raised this with the service provider and they mentioned they plan to fix it. They store backups for deleted items for 7 days. This seems like a reasonable way of going about things.
- peatmoss 9y ago
  I feel like Github's Danger Zone strikes a nice middle ground between "total footgun" and Facebook's belligerent refusal to let someone immediately sever their relationship. Actually, when compared to a breakup, the Facebook model seems even more silly: "I just think this relationship isn't working, and that we should move on, and find someone who we'll be happy with." "I'm really sorry you feel that way. I'll just continue being your boyfriend for the next week or two. If I hear from you at all during that time, I'll assume we're back together." And specifically keeping a backup of my data prior to hard delete? On a continuum from worst to best: Worst: Company as a matter of policy keeps my data around intentionally past the point of severing the relationship. Forgivable: Technical architectural constraints mean that there might be some lag time before an "erase the tapes" process fully purges my data, with this limitation noted in the docs. Best: Once I've terminated my relationship with the company, the company purges all my personal data.

existencebox 9y ago

Hey, question for you, admittedly slightly tangential. I've been a dev for a few user facing products that stored customer created content and offered account deletion. These sites weren't specifically social, and I always thought offering a "we don't hard delete for N days" (with reasonably short N) was a user friendly option, in case of accidental deletion or realizing recovery of certain assets was needed. Would you have an issue with this if the rest of the process wasn't dark-patterened? (e.g. if it was a clear single button "Delete account, type account name to confirm, OK, your stuff is going to be hard gone in a week") I'm curious as to where that line would be for you, since I usually consider well towards the "make options blatantly transparent and easy to use" and to the "allow users control of their account" side of things.

TheSpiceIsLife 9y ago
I recently nuked my email account by accident because their Close Account thingo is just 'enter password' > click button to the right, which is the identical process for . unlocking the 'Password & Security' settings 'enter password' > click button to the right, only the close account option is at the bottom of the page. It was late, I was tired and not paying attention. I've raised this with the service provider and they mentioned they plan to fix it. They store backups for deleted items for 7 days. This seems like a reasonable way of going about things.
peatmoss 9y ago
I feel like Github's Danger Zone strikes a nice middle ground between "total footgun" and Facebook's belligerent refusal to let someone immediately sever their relationship. Actually, when compared to a breakup, the Facebook model seems even more silly: "I just think this relationship isn't working, and that we should move on, and find someone who we'll be happy with." "I'm really sorry you feel that way. I'll just continue being your boyfriend for the next week or two. If I hear from you at all during that time, I'll assume we're back together." And specifically keeping a backup of my data prior to hard delete? On a continuum from worst to best: Worst: Company as a matter of policy keeps my data around intentionally past the point of severing the relationship. Forgivable: Technical architectural constraints mean that there might be some lag time before an "erase the tapes" process fully purges my data, with this limitation noted in the docs. Best: Once I've terminated my relationship with the company, the company purges all my personal data.