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Thought experiment: if after 5/25, I download my data, then revoke consent and delete my account, then a while later reactivate my account and log back in -- if

Thought experiment: if after 5/25, I download my data, then revoke consent and delete my account, then a while later reactivate my account and log back in -- if any of my previous personal data is tied to my "new" account, have I proven that my personal data wasn't entirely deleted since Facebook could still uniquely identify me?

fredley 8y ago
Yes. I'm waiting to delete my account until after the 25th because: * There's slightly more of a chance they'll actually delete my data * If they don't, I'll be entitled to be a part of any class-action.
- maaark 8y ago
  Same, and I'll be encouraging others to do so.
  - killjoywashere 8y ago
    What timezone are we using for this? Is it midnight Zulu on the 25th, the 26th?
    - sleavey 8y ago
      Why not just wait till the 27th?
    - 21 8y ago
      FFS, just delete it on 27
      - killjoywashere 8y ago
        Sorry, I'm not hip to most of this stuff. I just thought it would be a fun event. Perhaps it's already on the social media calendar, complete with a cat logo?
  - balladeer 8y ago
    Will that be a possibility for people who are not from USA? I had deleted (not deactivated) my account ~4 months ago and they were supposed to delete everything after 14 days but I have a feeling they didn't.
    - jononor 8y ago
      What do you mean not from USA? The legislation going into action May 25 is GDPR which applies to those in EU
      - y4mi 8y ago
        Yeah, this comment thread is strange. Most eu Nations don't have anything like a class action suit...
        lucb1e 8y ago
        This is confusing me as well about this subthread.
- dwyerm 8y ago
  > If they don't, I'll be entitled to be a part of any class-action. I am absolutely shocked to discover that Facebook doesn't have a class action waiver in their terms.
  - mixedCase 8y ago
    Would it be enforceable?
    - dhimes 8y ago
      Good question. Yahoo/Verizon put one in, and Google did too last week. EDIT to say: Well, I came across Google's last week. I don't really know when they put it in.
- Alan___ 8y ago
  I recently received an email with subject "Alan, please accept our updated Terms by May 25 to continue using Facebook". Currently I haven't done anything in response to it. I don't want my account but it's not clear what happens should I not accept. Does my account get deleted, or does it just get put in purgatory? Should I login and just delete after the 25th?
bogomipz 8y ago
>"Thought experiment: if after 5/25, I download my data, then revoke consent and delete my account, then a while later reactivate my account and log back in ..." If you actually delete your account you won't be able to reactivate it. There is an option to deactivate it but then all of your personal data is preserved anyway.
GuB-42 8y ago
If you delete your account, only your data is erased, not your "ghost profile". I don't know if it is the official term but your ghost is all the data Facebook has about you that doesn't come from you. For example, friends can talk about you and even tag you even if you never touched Facebook. It means that if you are the only one within your group of friends not using Facebook, they already know pretty much everything they need to know. If you delete your account, unless all your friends do the same, your ghost won't disappear, and it can be easily reconnected if you create a new account.
- JadeNB 8y ago
  > If you delete your account, only your data is erased, not your "ghost profile". I don't know if it is the official term but your ghost is all the data Facebook has about you that doesn't come from you. It is not the official term, because Zuck is shocked—shocked!—at the term: > Lujan: So these are called shadow profiles, is that what they’ve been referred to by some? > Zuckerberg: Congressman, I’m not, I’m not familiar with that. (https://techcrunch.com/2018/04/11/facebook-shadow-profiles-hearing-lujan-zuckerberg https://techcrunch.com/2018/04/11/facebook-shadow-profiles-h...). (OK, I realised just after posting that you said 'ghost profile', not 'shadow profile'. Anyway, my snarky point stands that there is no official term for this, because it doesn't officially exist.)
aukiman 8y ago
I'd say that assumption would be correct. Otherwise they have access to some serious non-facebook metadata repository! But then again how would they assume it was you without a trace of the former data.

fredley 8y ago

Yes. I'm waiting to delete my account until after the 25th because: * There's slightly more of a chance they'll actually delete my data * If they don't, I'll be entitled to be a part of any class-action.

maaark 8y ago
Same, and I'll be encouraging others to do so.
- killjoywashere 8y ago
  What timezone are we using for this? Is it midnight Zulu on the 25th, the 26th?
  - sleavey 8y ago
    Why not just wait till the 27th?
  - 21 8y ago
    FFS, just delete it on 27
    - killjoywashere 8y ago
      Sorry, I'm not hip to most of this stuff. I just thought it would be a fun event. Perhaps it's already on the social media calendar, complete with a cat logo?
- balladeer 8y ago
  Will that be a possibility for people who are not from USA? I had deleted (not deactivated) my account ~4 months ago and they were supposed to delete everything after 14 days but I have a feeling they didn't.
  - jononor 8y ago
    What do you mean not from USA? The legislation going into action May 25 is GDPR which applies to those in EU
    - y4mi 8y ago
      Yeah, this comment thread is strange. Most eu Nations don't have anything like a class action suit...
      - lucb1e 8y ago
        This is confusing me as well about this subthread.
dwyerm 8y ago
> If they don't, I'll be entitled to be a part of any class-action. I am absolutely shocked to discover that Facebook doesn't have a class action waiver in their terms.
- mixedCase 8y ago
  Would it be enforceable?
  - dhimes 8y ago
    Good question. Yahoo/Verizon put one in, and Google did too last week. EDIT to say: Well, I came across Google's last week. I don't really know when they put it in.
Alan___ 8y ago
I recently received an email with subject "Alan, please accept our updated Terms by May 25 to continue using Facebook". Currently I haven't done anything in response to it. I don't want my account but it's not clear what happens should I not accept. Does my account get deleted, or does it just get put in purgatory? Should I login and just delete after the 25th?

bogomipz 8y ago

>"Thought experiment: if after 5/25, I download my data, then revoke consent and delete my account, then a while later reactivate my account and log back in ..." If you actually delete your account you won't be able to reactivate it. There is an option to deactivate it but then all of your personal data is preserved anyway.

GuB-42 8y ago

If you delete your account, only your data is erased, not your "ghost profile". I don't know if it is the official term but your ghost is all the data Facebook has about you that doesn't come from you. For example, friends can talk about you and even tag you even if you never touched Facebook. It means that if you are the only one within your group of friends not using Facebook, they already know pretty much everything they need to know. If you delete your account, unless all your friends do the same, your ghost won't disappear, and it can be easily reconnected if you create a new account.

JadeNB 8y ago
> If you delete your account, only your data is erased, not your "ghost profile". I don't know if it is the official term but your ghost is all the data Facebook has about you that doesn't come from you. It is not the official term, because Zuck is shocked—shocked!—at the term: > Lujan: So these are called shadow profiles, is that what they’ve been referred to by some? > Zuckerberg: Congressman, I’m not, I’m not familiar with that. (https://techcrunch.com/2018/04/11/facebook-shadow-profiles-hearing-lujan-zuckerberg https://techcrunch.com/2018/04/11/facebook-shadow-profiles-h...). (OK, I realised just after posting that you said 'ghost profile', not 'shadow profile'. Anyway, my snarky point stands that there is no official term for this, because it doesn't officially exist.)

aukiman 8y ago

I'd say that assumption would be correct. Otherwise they have access to some serious non-facebook metadata repository! But then again how would they assume it was you without a trace of the former data.