I initially started my Facebook account because I was working tech support at the college and a student needed help linking Facebook to his school email. I walked through the steps with my own address; lo and behold, a Facebook account was born.
I dabbled with it here and there, the hot wastes of time that it is. With the advent of Beacon and its intrusive nature, I seriously began to consider deactivating my account. I did not take action until reading The Anonymity Experiment – one week experiment with the notions of conspiracy theorists and their guidebook to keeping under the radar.
In Facebook’s “My Account” page, you can choose to deactivate your account. Click first screenshot here to view the form (along with my diatribe to Facebook), but note two features of this form. First, every option to deactivate your account pops up a corresponding sales pitch. Wow. Does their revenue really depend on the number of active accounts? Are you trying to guilt me into keeping my account?
Second, and even more important, I must delineate two sub-gripes regarding the fine print of the “Opt Out” checkbox.
- Sub-gripe a: Why am I checking a box to opt out of maintaining communication with an organization with whom I have deactivated my account? Opt In is the appropriate default: check to Opt In to maintain communication. The very nature of deactivation is a separation of person and application.
Sub-gripe b: Facebook is deleting nothing! They are muting my account, not deactivating it. Click thumbnail here for full sized deactivation message. If at any time you say, “hey, you know what, I really screwed up Facebook. I think I’d like to have my account after all. But woe! I have deleted it! All those friends I shall have to re-friend!” You know what I say to that? TOUGH COOKIES! You deactivate your account, you don’t deserve to keep all those friends. Yeah, maybe next time you’ll be more careful when you click that “permanently deactivate my account”.
Is this what is happening, though? No. Instead, I mute my account, and I just have to log in like normal to access all of my old information.
So deleting isn’t really deleting, so what is deleting? Well, the help section has a handy option, “How do I delete my account?”, which directs us to fill out the contact us form and request an account deletion.
I have filled out such an email, pasted below (along with my diatribe). I will keep you posted on the Facebook account deletion progress. I anticipate no issues, due to previous outcry on the web resulting from the woe of account deletion – I gather Facebook has more or less streamlined the process.
:days pass:
I received a message from Facebook informing me that my profile and account details have been deleted. Moral of the story: deleting your Facebook account is not a big deal anymore. Just use the contact form and they take care of the rest.
Update April 4, 2008 I just discovered that Facebook did not delete my account, rather, they disabled it. Just for fun, I decided to try logging in to see what happens. Much to my chagrin, it was not deleted, but disabled.
See more at the upcoming blog post.
Popularity: 63% [?]
February 27th, 2008 at 4:14 pm
I would like to permanently delete my facebook account. I do understand that i will not be able to get back any of the information facebook has given me. Please email me.
April 4th, 2008 at 7:47 am
just get me off
September 5th, 2008 at 5:49 am
You have to go through your account before hand, deleting every last smidgeon of useful information before disabling your account.
Im leaving because I dont like the new facebook being forced upon me, im not going to destroy everything though until I have come to terms with a facebook less life.
SUCH is my addiction.
September 9th, 2008 at 4:59 am
Hey, good old facebook!
I opened my account not to long ago and boingo, Its gone, taken away from me by the folks at facebook. The reason? Well they cant divulge because of security but acording to a standard page on thier site, I broke the rules.
I had less than 300 friends and one possible reason is that I may have searched for friends to quickly. Geese isn’t facebook about making friends?
Ok facebook was fun but they sCk and I hope they break some rules and end up in jail or something bad happens to them……..I certainly don’t want them as my friends………….now I feel better.
I’m off to make some real friends that I can give real hugs to and eat real cupcakes with…
September 17th, 2008 at 8:57 pm
dear sir
i dont know why you would disable facebook from adisable person.none of my friends can understand it .idont even know what i did wrong.if i did isure dont know what it was. please actviate again..
thank you
seelan.
November 29th, 2008 at 4:11 pm
Can someone help me find a resolution to why I would be deactivated without any notice from Facebook?
Feel free to leave a comment with an FB contact or solution.
http://joannapenabickley.typepad.com/on/2008/11/on-facebook-deactivation.html
February 12th, 2009 at 12:43 pm
Before you deactivate, I’d recommend going into Settings->Privacy->Search, and removing yourself from all search options. That way, you can better assure no one will find ways to send you mail or see the list of friends you established at FB. For that matter, removing friends before you deactivate might provide another layer of protection. Personally, I like FB, and I don’t mind the exposure, but I’m reasonably savvy about life online. But for a lot of people the exposure goes far beyond anything they ever anticipated. Once the genie is out of the bottle, it’s very hard to put back in.
June 26th, 2009 at 5:06 pm
“The Dark Side of Facebook AKA “Disgracebook,” or “Facebooks Complete Lack of Customer Service”
The unaired dark side of Facebook, or should I call it “Disgracebook” because of the extremely poor disgraceful way Facebook treats its memebers. The reason I say the unaired dark side of Facebook is I have yet to see anything announced on the prime time major news outlets about the disgraceful practices Facebook uses on its members. The Internet is bursting at its seems with unhappy disabled Facebook members who have posted thousands of complaints everywhere it is possible to post complaints about Facebooks complete lack of customer service and mean spirited disregard for concerns, questions and feedback from members and former members.
On Mark Zuckerber’s, the founder of Facebook, Facebook Fan Page Mark states “I’m trying to make the world a more open place by helping people connect and share.” I am glad Mark says he is “trying etc.” because, in my opinion, he certainly has NOT accomplished his mission. Facebook is one of the most closed undemocratic uncaring unsocial business operations since the formation of the Gestapo. Facebook operates carte blanche without regard of a due process of rights for members Facebook deems unworthy to be members of its social network service and therefore, disables their account. Facebook justifies its policy and actions under the euphemism of “protecting members” from “repeated actions that could be construed as spam,” and from anything Facebook makes up as a threat to its security. Facebook is an omnipotent uncaring broadly defined automated bureaucratic security service mechanism with unpublished specific rules that are violated without knowing it. If this is not Gestapo like policy, I guess I do not know what it is because it certainly is un-American to say the least!
Furthermore, in my opinion Facebook is not a social network service. When joining Facebook you are, in reality, joining a money making “computer program” complete with automated responders but is set up to look like a social network service operated by real people. Is it any wonder Facebook members are treated with total disregard for being feeling thinking real people? I have yet to know of a computer program that is able to feel and or to reason. When someone calls Facebook you are treated rudely and crassly informed to use their computerized automated services which do not reply when used or quickly transferred to an automated answering service to which there is no reply.
I strongly urge anyone interested to please research what I am informing you of because I assure you the situation I have explained is the truth and nothing but the truth so help me God. Until the media and or business community and elected officals takes notice of and makes public “Disgracebooks” inhuman treatment of people Mark Zuckerberg and his staff and money making computer program will continue to fill up trenches behind Disgracebooks California headquarters with unworthy disabled members.
One final comment. If Disgracebook is treating its foreign members as poorly as it treats its domestic members Disgracebook is not only giving itself a black eye it is giving the United States of America a black eye. Is there anyone out there who cares enough to tell the world about Facebooks dark side and will hopefully help Facebook to become a user friendly Internet social service it claims to be?
October 1st, 2009 at 2:48 am
hi im trying to delete my accout since long time i just need some help delete permanently my account please thanks
October 14th, 2009 at 8:51 pm
Do you dummies still use Facebook? How come you haven’t worked out by now that people are laughing at you behind your back. Adjusting their behavior around you or avoiding you altogether.
Knowledge is power. If you’re gonna give it up on Facebook and let me know all about you. That makes me powerful and you vulnerable.
Well not me specifically, but there would be people in everyones life who are sneakily sussing you out online. Be on your guard people.
October 14th, 2009 at 9:02 pm
Trixie, it’s tricky
You have to go in and manually delete all photos you’ve uploaded, all comments you’ve ever posted etc etc… This will NOT however delete stuff already ‘out there’ on some of your friends profiles/walls.
Step 1 – log in and go do your spring clean delete everything you can. Delete or change any info about yourself, date of birth, school ,town, that kind of thing.
Step 2 – There is an email you can formaly request Facebook to permanently delete your profile. I’m not sure what it is. Someone please help her out with that.
Step 3- Once you’ve deleted as much of your stuff as you can, and sent a formal request to Facebook, then deactivate your account.
After about a month or 2 your account should permanently disappear. During those 1 or 2 months don’t go anywhere near Facebook or your account will reactivate and you will have to wait another 1 or 2 months. Superglue your hands to your butt cheeks if you have to but stay away.
Now, unfortunately anything Google already got their mitts on will be floating around the web forever. But on the upside, you are a needle in a haystack. The more and more people commit stuff online, the harder it will become to specifically find you. Unless you have a very unique name that nobody else in the world has has.
Good luck with it all and stay safe.
October 15th, 2009 at 12:22 am
Jesus Mark A. D. There are about 2000 staff looking after 300 million profiles (profiles, not people). How exactly did you expect they would cope with that load.
February 16th, 2010 at 12:17 pm
I changed my password to something random and deactivated and then threw the password away. I’m sure there’s a way around that, but I’ve been trying to stay away from Fb for a long time and I think I’m really done. I feel much different, much better…. I hope this is a fad that dies, I doubt it…since everyone’s gadgets are integrated and everyone’s brain dead!!!!!!!!! just kidding.
May 27th, 2010 at 9:58 am
Please de-activate my account from Facebook permanently. Thank you.
May 27th, 2010 at 10:19 am
I’m sorry, but I cannot delete Facebook accounts – I was just a user like you. You’ll have to contact Facebook for that.
July 5th, 2010 at 5:23 pm
I have an account with facebook but need to delete this account because I need to use my email account with my actual facebook account.
July 5th, 2010 at 5:26 pm
I cannot delete my facebook account. I need to delete it because I already have an account and need to use the email address on my main facebook account.