You're stuck with Facebook

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You're stuck with Facebook

Monday, February 11, 2008 2:21 AM | Social Social Media Facebook MySpace Social Networking

According to an item on the New York Times you will always be a member of Facebook. You have an option to deactivate your account, however you cannot completely erase your information from the site.

“It’s like the Hotel California,” said Nipon Das, 34, a director at a biotechnology consulting firm in Manhattan, who tried unsuccessfully to delete his account this fall. “You can check out any time you like, but you can never leave.” - NYT

The retaining of your personal information on Facebook even after requesting it to be deleted has privacy advocates in an uproar. It seems that while you can remove your content from Facebook, they reserve the right to retain your content via archives (backups).

The Facebook website doesn't inform users that must delete information from their account when deactivating it. This means your personal information such as email address and credit card numbers are still on the Facebook servers.

Evidently only users that contact Facebook's customer care department are told that they must remove each item, one at a time from their account. The problem is even when you do this there are still traces of you one Facebook. It is a literal privacy nightmare.

"But even users who try to delete every piece of information they have ever written, sent or received via the network have found their efforts to permanently leave stymied. Other social networking sites like MySpace and Friendster, as well as online dating sites like eHarmony.com, may require departing users to confirm their wishes several times — but in the end they offer a delete option." - NYT

First it was the Beacon advertising fiasco and now this. I have a Facebook profile and am now not so sure I want to be a part of social networking site that I cannot completely removed from should I care to do so. Kind of scary in fact.

Read the full article at the New York Times.

Related

Social networking is reaching out (Facebook coverage)

facebook does an about face (posted 2/13/2008)

Facebook – insight from an 18yr old female college student (2/25/2008)

Fox News Claims Facebook’s Death Spiral Has Started (2/26/2008)

23 Comments

Comments

Posted by Jake on 2/11/2008 8:39 AM: Yeah this is scary and I just deleted my account. Luckily I didn't have anything up that I cared much about. That would be why I use a dump email account for stuff like them. Can't we have any privacy on the net anymore? Geeze!
Posted by Dallas Web Designer on 2/12/2008 1:18 AM: WOW! Thanks for the info. Just stumblin' upon and found you. Nice site!
Posted by Dwayne Charrington on 2/12/2008 3:54 AM: Yet again another Facebook controversy. I'm sick of hearing about Facebook and you just can't escape it.

Good post though, people need to know this stuff.

- Dwayne Charrington.
http://www.dwaynecharrington.com
Posted by Brenna on 2/12/2008 8:20 AM: uhm, who gives their credit card number to facebook? what, to buy those lame pixel gifts? i didn't think anyone actually did that...
Posted by olivia on 2/12/2008 9:41 AM: This is a good point, but all websites are cached and can be viewed after they are deleted. This includes social networking sites. In my hs they used to tell us nearly the same thing about myspace "beware what you put up there because you can never delete it" anyone with extensive computer knowledge can see what a web page looked like on a certain web page looked like at a certain time of any day in history.
This is still something to be concerned about, but I guess it goes to show that if you dont want someone to see something then you shouldnt post it on the internet
Posted by bobob on 2/12/2008 11:01 AM: Brenna said: "uhm, who gives their credit card number to facebook? what, to buy those lame pixel gifts? i didn't think anyone actually did that..."

Americans are dumb enough to elect Bush twice and then go to war over WMD the rest of the world knew didn't exist. If you can think of something stupid to do you can be sure Americans will do it and barf about it. And if it's barbaric they'll do it and brag about it even more.

Long before all this bad news broke, it took me 5 minutes to realize Facebook, like Myspace, is a gathering point for losers. Anybody who joined either site painted a big L on their forehead and begged for all the crap that's happening now.
Posted by Anna on 2/12/2008 11:42 AM: bobob....you just made a comment on a blog...what makes myspace or facebook any different? Guess you have a big L on your forehead now, huh?
Posted by Fin on 2/12/2008 12:30 PM: Anna - hilarious! :)
Posted by dumbass on 2/12/2008 1:12 PM: hey tards, if you're so scared of facebook having your info, ummm...... maybe dont create an account in the first place.
Posted by jason on 2/12/2008 3:29 PM: I'm so glad I never got a facebook account besides the girls on myspace are hotter
Posted by mrsleep on 2/12/2008 4:19 PM: this is why you dont put your personal info all over the net.
People just need to use some common sense.
Posted by Lz on 2/12/2008 6:12 PM: FaceBook is also used by the Police in my small college town. They use it to find faces for people that get assaulted or when they need to identify a potential suspect. Seen it first hand.
Posted by Wow on 2/12/2008 6:13 PM: I dont understand the big deal, first off why would you give your credit card to many social network site, second I don't see any thing wrong, wow they keep your email, but you can block emails from a certain sender by marking it unsafe.
Posted by Jules on 2/13/2008 8:14 AM: Way to go Bobob, so happy to see someone say it. We have to give them the fact that the majority of Americans didnt vote for Bush
Posted by Gabriel on 2/25/2008 4:58 PM: i really don't see what the big deal is. even if Facebook doesn't delete your account, you can delete all the info, change your the email address you give them, to your spam adress if you have one, or just a fake one. and if you gave them your credit card number, just change it and give a wrong one. i'm on facebook, and if i were to leave, i would do that.
Posted by Allen on 2/25/2008 5:03 PM: Hi Gabriel,
Thanks for your comments! Some people have a fear of their private information being available after they leave. I suppose it depends on the person and what their profile contains.
Posted by Gabriel on 2/25/2008 5:09 PM: but you CAN delete everything but your email and, well i don't know about your credit card information. if you only leave your name and an email address that is not yours, what private information would be available? (and if you are afraid of your credit card being in Facebook hands, why would you give it to them?)
Posted by Allen on 2/25/2008 5:14 PM: Hi Gabriel,
Facebook now makes it easier by contacting them about deleting the profile, however in the recnet past to completely remove your profile you had to delete everything you added, including shoults on other users walls, everything one item at a time. I personally wouldn't use a credit card on a social site, but there are people that use them do buy things, such as gifts and widgets and other items.
Posted by Japandy on 2/26/2008 10:33 AM: Ur, um, I think they call it a ... COMMUNITY! The old lady at the local flower shop has my credit card number, and lucky for me she doesn't do anything with it. Communities are like civilisations, they go through tests and trials and tribulations, and we learn how to patch up the holes after learn from the dangers that we didn't know before. Just remember, the internet IS a human community, so after the creases get ironed out, it'll all be okay teddy bears - humans are pretty good at identifying social problems and restoring some form of justice.

By the way you acid-tongued insulters out there transferring your frustrations out onto the community ... WE KNOW WHOOO YOUUU AAAAARE (wooooooowwwoooow) ... YOU CAAAAAN'T HIIIIIDE ANYMOOORRE (hhoohoo hahahaha haaaaaaaa)
Posted by Allen on 2/26/2008 10:36 AM: Thanks for your comment Japandy
Posted by Tonay on 2/26/2008 3:21 PM: I've read the facebook privacy statement and it makes clear that anything entered to the site is no longer personal property, however, like hotmail not removing the email address unless it's not received a message for 90 days, it seems to be taking advantage of the customers trusting nature.
Posted by allen on 2/27/2008 1:11 PM: Hi Tonay,
Thanks for the comments and fedback.
Posted by Greenlantern on 3/16/2008 11:46 PM: Good to know this,in fact I know people who but things on FACEBOOK Like showed pitchers of a tato on his arm,that said a few things,like f--- her,and f--- him,and f--- you to, They put I should have run my car over her toe, few other things,She took him to court lied her face off showed what he put on facebook to the family judge and he cant get 50 50 custady of his child ! Judge took that what he puton facebook and used it against him so what do you think of that!