Deleting my Facebook Account
These posts describe my digital privacy journey. Some decisions were mistakes in hindsight, but I want to show all the steps I took.
The first step I took towards digital privacy was to delete my Facebook account. I was getting bogged down keeping up with the trivia of other people's lives, some of whom I hardly knew. It was boredom that kept me returning to the Facebook wall.
While time-waste was the main reason for deletion, I was beginning to wake up to corporate harvesting and ownership of personal data, with Facebook being most obvious case.
Problems
I suspended and then deleted my account impulsively. Two people at work stopped talking to me, thinking I had blocked them.
Sometimes people start conversations on Facebook and continue them around you in real life, or approach you about your holiday, knowing things about you haven't told them yourself.
My partner and I have had disagreements about posting images of our children.
Second hand markets and restaurants still rely on Facebook.
Current use and looking ahead
I am happy with my decision. It was not that difficult to leave a platform everyone is using, and the gains are palpable. I keep in touch with people important to me via email and Signal.
As a parent, I want to navigate social media carefully; my kids are the last in their class to own devices and join platforms, some of which they may never join at all.
I eventually left the other Meta platforms (WhatsApp, Instagram) and currently only use Reddit and LinkedIn.
Documentation
Facebook now has good help pages:
to export your Facebook data, see this guide
to suspend your Facebook account, see this guide
(I recommend suspending your account first.)
- to permanently delete your Facebook account, see this guide
You have 30 days to change your mind. You'll still be able to use Whatsapp and Instagram, but not Messenger.
Consider carefully sites where you created logins with your Facebook account. You won't be able to log into them once your account is deleted.
Ten Arguments For Deleting Your Social Media Accounts Right Now by Jaron Lanier (still to read!)