How to delete (not deactivate) your Facebook account |
105 Comments |
Posted by Marc Saltzman at 4:06 PM | E-mail this post
In case you haven't heard the news, Canada's privacy commissioner, Jennifer Stoddart, has some strong words for Facebook on its privacy practices (or lack thereof). Here we address one of her concerns.
The mega-popular social networking tool -- used by more than 200 million people worldwide (12 million of whom are in Canada...yes, 1 in 3 Canadians) -- isn't doing enough to protect the privacy of its users, says Canada's privacy commissioner, Jennifer Stoddart.
One issue is how much information we're divulging to third-party developers in order to use their "free" applications -- from vampire bites to Scrabble games -- and how little Facebook monitors or enforces this exchange of information (and what's being done with it). As we've written on Sync in the past, be cautious about what info you're giving away when you sign up for Food Fight, Movie Trivia or the other gazillion so-called "free" apps.
The other issue is about account deactivation versus deletion. It's fairly easy to deactivate your account, but your information still resides on Facebook's servers because, as Facebook says, roughly half of people who decide they don't want a Facebook profile page change their mind and reactivate it. Stoddard says this shouldn't be the case.
Deleting the account, though, isn't as clear to Facebook users. So, we're here to help:
If you really want to remove yourself from the Facebook community, then click this link, sign into your account (with password) and then type in your email address into the window.
Facebook warns, however:
If you do not think you will use Facebook again and would like your account deleted, we can take care of this for you. Keep in mind that you will not be able to reactivate your account or retrieve any of the content or information you have added. If you would like your account deleted, then click "Submit."
So, what do you think about Facebook's alleged privacy issues? Does this new information want you to stop using the service? Or do you trust your information is in safe hands?
If you enjoyed this post, why not subscribe to this blog via RSS? It's easy and you'll never miss another sync article.
Posted by Marc Saltzman at 4:06 PM in Computers & Software
| Permalink
| Comments (105)
Sally on July 16 at 5:00 PM | Report abuse
I have been trying to delete my Facebook account since the weekend.I type in my email address and "submit" then on a new screen it gives me a place to type in my password, which I do, and a place to re-type two words with a space in between, which I do. However when I do this it just keeps looping back and making me enter my password and type two more words.I have done this ten times or more and then gave up and logged out. I tried changing my password and doing it with my new password but the same thing happens. It is a Kafka nightmare. I didn't even want to join Facebook but got an email from Facebook saying my daughter's boyfriend invited me on to his Facebook. I didn't realize when I signed up to get on to his that it meant I, myself, had joined up....
cleebie on July 16 at 7:51 PM | Report abuse
I don't know what the big deal is over this is, I mean everything you view gets stored on the computer viewing it in a temporary file, so it's going to be around somewhere, if i click on your profile or anything on the net it get's stored in your history. So again what is the big deal over this, people just need to be better educated of how things work when they post stuff, sure face book might delete from their server, but if I did delete my temporary files your profile is still in existance, well the parts that were viewed are.
Natalie on July 17 at 12:22 AM | Report abuse
@Sally: You have to log into your account to be able to delete it.
valerie on July 17 at 12:26 AM | Report abuse
i don't know why every time some 1 has to find fault when ppl are interacting with each other.Personally if u want to be on this kind of web site u should be smart enough to not put personal info on ur profile.Be safe & all will be safe.I thought this country was a democratic country but i see it's getting worse through the yrs.What is coming up with facebook on t.v & computer is just rediculous!!!!
James on July 17 at 12:27 AM | Report abuse
I hardly think posting my favourite movies and the like will come back to haunt me. Yes, Facebook does require users to enter their birthdays to verify they are old enough to use the service (however those parameters were determined). I guess my real issue here is not what I've chosen to share about myself via Facebook or any online service, but the real hypocrisy is that the government reserves the right to and does post its citizens' information online (Canada 411, e.g.). Honestly, I'm not sure I want to know how many retrieval systems our governments use. The fact is, every time you enter a contest or fill out a survey, even with companies or organizations you like, there's no guarantee they'll handle that info in accordance with your standards. I entered CBC's fantasy pool during the playoffs, and I knew the risks involved. At least in that case, as well as with Facebook, I controlled what info got posted. Why hasn't this issue confronted the non-voluntary management of our personal details?
Will on July 17 at 12:52 AM | Report abuse
I do believe that the author meant used by more than 200 million people world wide; not "used by more than 200 people world wide". ^^
andrew on July 17 at 1:10 AM | Report abuse
so facebook has more than 200 users worldwide....great proof read
Anonymous on July 17 at 1:10 AM | Report abuse
I'm starting to consider deleting my facebook account, there seem to be far too many "privacy glitches." Besides how many of the people on your friends list do you actually talk to and how many are just there as a number?
NIGEL on July 17 at 1:12 AM | Report abuse
I find the thing that really ticks me off is the invitations falsely put forward. "Someone you know has sent you a card" so you try to open the card and in order to do so you have to submit your cell phone number. SORRY if you want that I don't need to open the card!!! This also applies to Quizzes etc. when you want private info I don't need you!!
Chris on July 17 at 1:34 AM | Report abuse
What privacy? You make a Facebook account with your real name. How private is it expected to be? Thanks for pretending to care about privacy, it's touching.
Lesli on July 17 at 1:50 AM | Report abuse
Ok, so I tried deleting my account... however each time I did this came up "Password/Captcha Incorrect. Try again"... i know what my password to get onto Facebook was, I even tried changing it by re-activating my account then de-activating it again. And I can read the Captcha just fine, so why won't it let me delete my account??? Help please!!!!
tyler on July 17 at 2:05 AM | Report abuse
why would you want hundreds of poeple knowing what your doing anyways having a facebook profile is just a cry for attention its immature
ES on July 17 at 2:17 AM | Report abuse
WTH.. i tried to delete my account and stupid fb wont let me.. they say those stupid captcha are wrong.. i guess they'll do anything do keep people hooked on it.. bastards!
Anne on July 17 at 2:19 AM | Report abuse
I tried about 15 times to delete my facebook account and it keeps giving me the message "Password/Captcha Incorrect. Try again".
My account has been deactivated for 2 years. I did not remember my password so I asked to reset it. I got the above message when putting in my password and typing the 2 words.
I reactivated my account and tried to delete it. Still the same message.
I opened my file and tried to delete. Same message.
I logged out and tried to delete. Same message.
I think it is just as always - you cannot get off of facebook. I just wasted a lot of time because I believed you in your article that I can delete my account. If you don't know for sure what you are saying I think you should say nothing and save everyone a lot of time and trouble.
I'm just going to deactivate the account again.
ES on July 17 at 2:21 AM | Report abuse
DONE! i guess you did have to be logged on. Thanks Natalie :) Its not even about privacy anymore.. its just pointless.. i cant limit everyone from telling me about their lives, so im moving on with mine. Have a great one!
Anne on July 17 at 2:32 AM | Report abuse
I tried one final time and I got to delete my account.
I went into my account and asked the question in some help/search box "how do I delete my account". They referred me to a page that looked exactly the same as all the others I had tried before, but when I put in my password and typed the 2 words this time it worked. Great!
Thank you very much for this information on how to delete your facebook account.
jim on July 17 at 2:32 AM | Report abuse
somebody should start a class action lawsuit against these people at facebook
Anne on July 17 at 3:14 AM | Report abuse
I have tried deleting my facebook account and it won't let me - keep getting the same message that the words or captcha incorrect which is a lot of hooey - facebook is just not allowing the deletion
canadian on July 17 at 3:23 AM | Report abuse
this link doesnt work i just says i typed in my password or the scrambled letters wrong tried 10 times with mine an girfriends account didnt work
SJM on July 17 at 4:52 AM | Report abuse
Coincidently, I decided a few days ago to delete my account. The privacy issues have only a small part to do with it. My decision is based more on the sheer mundanity of Facebook, that is not only flabbergasting, but time consuming and brain numbing. Social networks are aiding in the cheapening and dumbing down of society. I'm tired of reading something like "Your a nice guy." I didn't know I had a "nice guy" and what about mine, anyway? I agree that this isn't the whole, but it certainly appears to be the norm.
polly on July 17 at 4:58 AM | Report abuse
i have been wanting yo get out of face book for a long time but could not ! So does this mean if i delete my account its gone for ever?? this is what i want i did not understand how they could still keep every thing account and all opened even if i did not want it! I was like a prisoner & they had the key. I hope this is solved. Polly
Arlene on July 17 at 5:47 AM | Report abuse
last week my husband was playing a game on a website (not facebook) and while playing he saw on one of their ad banners on the top ,an ad with My picture(my facebook pic) and my first name "saying some inappriate thing"also my nephews name(one of my facebooks friends)
He and I were shocked! how the heck to that all get there?
Hubby is not a fan of facebook and Im a fairly new user who assured him ,that all my info was not shared with the worldwide web,just my friends!Now I see its not!!
Arlene on July 17 at 5:52 AM | Report abuse
If third partys already have your info ,how will deleting your facebook account help now?
Ginette on July 17 at 6:04 AM | Report abuse
Can't seem to cancel this account as the scrambled words keep reappearing over and over again as wrong!!!!!
lkj on July 17 at 6:31 AM | Report abuse
"The mega-popular social networking tool -- used by more than 200 people worldwide (12 million of whom are in Canada...yes, 1 in 3 Canadians)"
Math major or sloppy proof reader?
Sogwili on July 17 at 6:31 AM | Report abuse
This world has gotten ridiculous...
I cant believe theyre trying to shut down face book because of its overwhelming popularity.
A man was charged for over downloading... LOL Like wtf, do these actors/ess and musicans FORGET Who made them? So theyre washed up has beens that are broke and now cry over free downloads of their stuff. I say, lets stop going to see movies/or buying DVD, and stop buying CD's, lets see how fast they change their tune. I suspect we'd all be getting free downloads just to get us back so they can have their allowances again.
Whats gonna happen next?? too funny
Awal on July 17 at 7:05 AM | Report abuse
This article is pretty useless, it asks what do we think of the privacy issue without really commenting on what the privacy issues are.Very little background work done here. Just saying there is a privacy issue and letting us know that facebook is popular is not informing. Pretty half assed job by Marc Saltzman.
Marc Saltzman on July 17 at 7:12 AM | Report abuse
Awal,
I linked to the ARTICLE that expands on what the privacy issues are...and I did summarize them here in the BLOG post. But as the headline says, this post is to teach you how to delete your account if you want to (and why).
Cheers,
Marc Saltzman
SlyFox on July 17 at 7:20 AM | Report abuse
Sogwili:
You sound sound like an idiot!
Marc Saltzman on July 17 at 7:30 AM | Report abuse
Whoops...thanks for catching the typo...I forgot the word "million" (in "200 million") so I added it in.
And yes, per the instructions, you need to log in first and then type in your email address. If you didn't need to log in first you could delete a friend (or rather, an enemy's) Facebook account without their permission! Now THAT would be a privacy issue.
Marc
Paul Ratte on July 17 at 7:46 AM | Report abuse
This doesn't work at all....it just keeps looping around and around. What gives ?
LJ on July 17 at 7:48 AM | Report abuse
I tried to delete FC account a while ago. I had to go thru the same mix-up as all of U. Finally, I got the message saying I had opted out of FC. Sometime later I logged in to my account; thinking it would be obsulete. Surprise! It was still valid. I don't like the thought of "anyone" getting into my site. Where is the privacy? It's OK for friends but strangers can see your site during games, & such.Not good.
anne on July 17 at 9:01 AM | Report abuse
Yes, It finally worked - click on the link, sign into facebook then follow instructions - facebook is supposed to delete within fourteen days according to their message as long as I don't try and login in that period, which will reactiviate the account
Thank you Marc Saltzman!!!
No I do not feel safe using facebook and won't be trusting it no matter what changes they make! Have sent and will continue to send the articles to friends with facebook and let them make informed decisions about staying with it or not !
tony frangoudis on July 17 at 9:04 AM | Report abuse
Tried tp permanetly delete my facebook account but it still will not let me by making the words to type out difficult and when I thought I had it right it still denied me.
Wendy on July 17 at 9:10 AM | Report abuse
For those having trouble deleting their FB account : You have to log into your account. Then go to the bottom of the page, Select Help, then do a search on the word "delete", select the option deactivate or delete account, clink the link to delete. Type your password and the two other words, the you will get a message saying that your account will be deleted in 14 days.
Christine on July 17 at 9:22 AM | Report abuse
Deleting the account seems almost pointless at this late date as those who are accessing the information already have what they want from our existing accounts. I'm sure these criminals have a system in place to alert them to the info they are looking for. An interesting study would be to see how many proven instances of identity theft originated from this site. If the origin of the obtained information is found to have come from this site, then have Facebook owners charged as accessories to the crime since they are entrusted with the information.
A smarter idea would be NOT to post your life in a public forum. Use untracable information such as email adresses from general sites like hotmail or gmail as opposed to homebased providers like your local phone comapny where your home address can be traced. Use major centers as your city instead of the small town you come from. And for heaven's sake don't enter your home phone numbers - skip all OPTIONAL boxes - the people who love and care about you already know your home phone number! The problem with many people on these sites is that they choose to broadcast their information. Those who are silly enough to post their multiple daily activities are just asking for trouble. One "friend" linked to my account posts her movements every couple of hours - things like at work, on the bus, walking home. This individual is even silly enough to have her work address POSTED. She might as well have a billboard that says "Here I am, come get me!"
My point is yes Facebook should be held responsible for the security of "required" information entrusted to them BUT we as individuals have a responsibility to ensure that any and all optional information we are posting doesn't put us at risk - either in person or financially through identity theft.
SRSB on July 17 at 9:24 AM | Report abuse
never have been a facebook believer. find the whole thing anti social! go out and have coffee with people do not hind inside kisssing a computer! and you are just know realizing the infringement of privacy please people facebook has told the world that everything you put on the site even if you designed for your use belongs to them. once on the site forever damaging. even the pics from that frat party cost you the job you so wanted!
Kris on July 17 at 9:35 AM | Report abuse
Want to delete yur FB account, simple, hire a hacker, get him/her to hack into the Facebook servers, & delete your account, if FB won't let you do it, someone should.
quakerchick on July 17 at 9:40 AM | Report abuse
Unfortunately, to view other Facebook entries you have to sign up yourself. I did so only to see what my niece had posted. As soon as I signed up I wanted to delete my account. It wasn't until now that I have been able to do so. My decision was not about privacy; but about getting rid of accounts I don't use. Yes, I could have left it there; but I was taught to clean up after myself. I dislike the fact that Facebook keeps the information when you deactivate an account. By the way, they also keep your information active for a full fourteen (14) days after you delete the account just in case you change your mind.
Facebook user on July 17 at 9:54 AM | Report abuse
In regards to privacy concerns - it's all about being caucious of what information you give out - if you don't want anybody seeing private information - it's easy, don't give it.
James on July 17 at 10:00 AM | Report abuse
Yes, it seems that id you were one of the many FB users who signed up just think for a minute, you have no control over whoever uses your personal info, c'mon people wake up we are now in the age of information and places like FB, well I can definately do WITHOUT so can YOU . . .
valerie scrivner on July 17 at 10:08 AM | Report abuse
I joined facebook a while ago and have not used it. I cannot find my password and would like to delete my account until FACE BOOK is a safe to use. Can you help me.
Valerie
Nora on July 17 at 10:10 AM | Report abuse
We all can protect ourselfs on facebook,, my parents when i was young told me, Never put up your real last name so people can't track you.. so in my account i have written my first name and my middle name. I display only the city i live in not my community and i never show my adress or phone number. Its our choice what we choose to display on facebook.
Justme on July 17 at 10:11 AM | Report abuse
I finally successfully deleted my account. Thank you to someone above who said you had to be logged in to do it. So I logged into my account that i deactivated months ago,,, and then hit the help option at the bottom of the page and then the option to delete account permanently. i then deactivated it again as well to be sure whic took me three tries... it says that it will be permanently deleted as of aug 1. that i have to stay logged out for 14 days and then it will be permanently deleted. im ok with that. when i relogged in, my actual profile page did not show up, just a message that said that it was set for deletion on Aug 1. seems to have worked.
i see no point in compaining on here, we signed up for facebook and all enjoyed using it to some extent at one time and for whatever our reasons no longer wish to use it. so there are privacy issues with facebook now... well thank God, you are deleting it, and have got past your day to day addiction of using it! lol... at least common sense prevailed and here is a valid option if you can follow the good help that some people on here have to get rid of it permanently. as the original directions are not totally clear. life goes on and we arent on facebook anymore. its a win win. dont see why the need to complain.
Larry Clarke on July 17 at 10:16 AM | Report abuse
I HIGHLIGHTED "HOW TO DELETE NOT DEACTIVATE YOUR FACEBOOK, YET I'M STILL NO CLOSER TO DOING SO.
I TOO, SIGNED TO SEE WHAT MY NEPHEW POSTED BUT HAVE NEVER VISITED THE SIGHT AGAIN!
I'M TOTALLY AGAINST REGISTERING INFORMATION RECEIVED SECOND HANDED (I.E. BY FRIENDS OR RELATIVES) AS I WOULD EXPECT THIS TO BE A SORT OF INVASION OF MY PRIVACY SINCE PERMISSION WAS NEVER GIVEN TO SUCH PEOPLE TO DIVULGE INFORMATION ABOUT YOU. LET ALONE PERSONAL INFORMATION THAT YOU YOURSELF WOULD NEVER SHARE WITH ANY OTHER STRANGER.
SO, HOW DO I DELETE MY NAME FROM FACEBOOK???????
LARRY CLARKE
Justme on July 17 at 10:20 AM | Report abuse
I FOUND THIS UP HIGHER ON THE LIST OF COMMENTS NOW AND REPOSTED IT, FOR THOSE THAT WANT THE INFO... THANK YOU! ANNE! : )
Anne on July 17 at 2:32 AM | Report abuse
I tried one final time and I got to delete my account.
I went into my account and asked the question in some help/search box "how do I delete my account". They referred me to a page that looked exactly the same as all the others I had tried before, but when I put in my password and typed the 2 words this time it worked. Great!
Thank you very much for this information on how to delete your facebook account.
charlie on July 17 at 10:33 AM | Report abuse
Yes I was duped into a scam advertising earning extra money through google. It turned out to be a scam and they were supposed to send me a cd for 1.99 but ended up charging my credit card close to 200.cdn. I had to cancell that credit card and apply for a refund through the bank.
During that time I was contacted bt another Co called Thrive Learning Institute whom presented themselves as the same people who were going to help me with my online business.
I unwittingly agreed and befo I knew it I had signed p on a program for an investment of$10000. usd. It is a traing program but they do not help with anything accept supply comments and ideas on how "I" can find all this information on the internet. Very frustrating. I feel I have been screwed out of my money and if I ever do get anything out of it I will thank my lucky star. Please everyone be very very affraid of solicitors on facebook.
Good luck.
Sogwili Sucks on July 17 at 10:38 AM | Report abuse
Sog..... lest you forget that if it were not for these so called *washed* up artists's work, you would have NO MUSIC OR MOVIES to download. Your attitude is typical of the young generation today and that is simply *WHAT's IN IT FOR ME*.. BTW have you thanked your mom and dad for contributing the genetics to even allow you to be on this earth? Loser!
Mike on July 17 at 10:45 AM | Report abuse
Natalie is correct! I tried deleting my account and when I submitted the request it said my password or "funky word" was wrong. I logged onto Facebook and the deletion was successful.
Oliver on July 17 at 10:47 AM | Report abuse
Facebook couldn't be any worse then the Canadian governments in it's way of handling our personal and private information by leaving it laying around or losing it and ending up in the wrong hands. I am sure facebook doesn't have that much personal information as does the Canadian government.
Granted facebook should be obligated to strengthen up its privacy policy and protect its consumers better.
As they say industry are better at keeping your personal information privacy and safe the your own government!