How to permanently delete your Facebook account • Hacker News Board

Re: How to permanently delete your Facebook account

#81

Post by sleepyhead » Wed, Oct 06, 2021, 11:35 AM UTC

dotancohen wrote: post #18

bborud wrote: post #7

I think it should be a legal requirement that users are able to configure retention of their data. For instance that any content you post will only be retained for N number of weeks/ months/years. And that social media platforms over a certain size have to agree to auditing to ensure that this data is actually deleted.

As someone who implements these types of requirements, this suggestion just adds complexity where none is needed. In the software, and the database, and the backup strategy, and for the average user. Complexity requires time, money, and introduces bugs and user error. Right now we are required by law to remove user data upon request (Europe). That law is strong enough to cover those who need it.

Actually GDPR requires you to delete data when no longer needed. How long data is needed depends on what type of data it is. For example financial transactions are covered by other laws to be kept for certain amount of time. If data is linked to a survey that is completed then, by law, that data is no longer needed and should be deleted. How long should photo likes and comments be kept? I don't think there are good guidelines or judgements regarding this but it is nevertheless something to take into consideration and in most cases delete data based on age.

Re: How to permanently delete your Facebook account

#82

Post by AnIdiotOnTheNet » Wed, Oct 06, 2021, 11:36 AM UTC

netizen-936824 wrote: post #64

pacija wrote: post #62

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How _dare_ they not having xmpp and matrix accounts while I, the real mensch, selfhost both _servers_. And what's with all the downmods and downright flags lately? I'm trying to be funny here.

No humor allowed. HN is srs bsns

Eh, I think it is a good rule personally. At least for reddit-style low-effort one liner humor, not that I haven't been guilty of posting that myself.

Re: How to permanently delete your Facebook account

#83

Post by unyttigfjelltol » Wed, Oct 06, 2021, 11:37 AM UTC

hnlmorg wrote: post #72

zionic wrote: post #36

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is so strange, no one in my social circle uses WhatsApp or has ever asked me to use it to talk to them. It’s all iMessage, Snapchat, and a growing group of people on Signal.

Messaging clients tend to be regional. WhatsApp is massive in Europe. From what I gather WeChat is dominant in mainland China but Hong Kong still used WhatsApp (though I think they might be coming round to Signal?) and the US, who have a higher ratio of Apple users vs the rest of the world, tend to use iMessage a lot more.

Interoperability between these systems should be a public policy goal. I don't have to buy an AT&T phone anymore to call my friends; not sure why I have to buy iOS to chat with them.

Re: How to permanently delete your Facebook account

#84

Post by iforgetti » Wed, Oct 06, 2021, 11:37 AM UTC

swamp-agr wrote: post #65

c8g wrote: post #59

Earlier quoted context omitted.

probably you were in a hurry or distressed and didn't read the text while deleting the account and probably, you have disabled your account. They will offer an option to disable account in case you change your mind later. Please stop spreading misinformation.

Disagree. - I explicitly check to avoid any "disabling". - The only intent was to permanently delete the account. - You can believe me or not and I did it really careful.

Move to a European country and Sue there for GDPR violation.

Re: How to permanently delete your Facebook account

#85

Post by hnlmorg » Wed, Oct 06, 2021, 11:41 AM UTC

unyttigfjelltol wrote: post #83

hnlmorg wrote: post #72

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Messaging clients tend to be regional. WhatsApp is massive in Europe. From what I gather WeChat is dominant in mainland China but Hong Kong still used WhatsApp (though I think they might be coming round to Signal?) and the US, who have a higher ratio of Apple users vs the rest of the world, tend to use iMessage a lot more.

Interoperability between these systems should be a public policy goal. I don't have to buy an AT&T phone anymore to call my friends; not sure why I have to buy iOS to chat with them.

I agree with you but this is a problem that date backs to the 90s (anyone remember Bitlbee, Trillion, Pidgeon, etc?). Unfortunately incompatibility is seen by businesses a feature rather than a flaw -- despite the annoyances it causes for users.

Re: How to permanently delete your Facebook account

#86

Post by hetspookjee » Wed, Oct 06, 2021, 11:41 AM UTC

tremon wrote: post #52

markx2 wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You don't need to visit facebook, you just need to visit a page that has their script embedded. nextdns.io does a good job of blocking facebook. They base their block on https://github.com/jmdugan/blocklists which has this list https://github.com/jmdugan/blocklists/blob/master/corporatio...

That blocklist is very narrow, I would suggest using https://www.github.developerdan.com/hosts/lists/facebook-ext... instead. Or just use this RPZ policy (add *. wildcard entries as well, omitted for brevity): instagram.com. *. cdninstagram.com. *. messenger.com. *. facebook.com. *. fbcdn.com. *. fbcdn.net. *. fb.com. *. fb.me. *.

So through the downtime of Facebook I learned they have their own registrar which makes it, I think, a lot easier to figure out all domains related to that registrar and simply black list any and all domains hosted on that registrar? Than you know for sure that even a typo page won’t be tracking you. I just don’t know how to find all domains related to a given registrar and if that is even possible.

Re: How to permanently delete your Facebook account

#87

Post by Macha » Wed, Oct 06, 2021, 11:44 AM UTC

emptyfile wrote: post #55

zionic wrote: post #36

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is so strange, no one in my social circle uses WhatsApp or has ever asked me to use it to talk to them. It’s all iMessage, Snapchat, and a growing group of people on Signal.

I don't even know what iMessage is.

Something something american teenagers bubble colours?

Re: How to permanently delete your Facebook account

#88

Post by tut-urut-utut » Wed, Oct 06, 2021, 11:47 AM UTC

malka wrote: post #31

Traster wrote: post #29

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think Amazon is actually a different story to a certain extent. Sure, you can delete your account, but at the end of the day you've transacted with them and they can keep a record of who they've transacted with, right? Personally I think it would be unreasonable for me to demand that a shop I buy from delete the record of who purchased it.

> I think it would be unreasonable for me to demand that a shop I buy from delete the record of who purchased it. Why ? for recent transaction, they need to keep it for tax purposes but they have no legal need to keep old records.

In some countries, they need to keep it for 10 years for tax and audit reasons.

I wouldn't call 10 years "recent transactions". Heck, for most of the online shops, it's more like "forever".

Re: How to permanently delete your Facebook account

#89

Post by Pawka » Wed, Oct 06, 2021, 11:48 AM UTC

nicbou wrote: post #80

shadowfaxRodeo wrote: post #15

I got rid of Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp about 4 years ago. Facebook and Instagram was easy, but people who have WhatsApp really think you’re weird for not having it. Deleting WhatsApp, while annoying for me personally, has resulted in many people I know joining Signal or Telegram — the network effect can be broken by being belligerent. If you don’t want to have a conversation about why you deleted WhatsApp, si…

In Europe, people just assume that you have it. I often get the first contact from pensions and airbnbs on WhatsApp. I convinced a few people to switch to Telegram, but there are still a few stragglers on WhatsApp and even Facebook Messenger.

I'd say in parts of Europe. E.g. in Slavic regions Telegram is popular. In other regions Signal. Among my circles FB messenger seems to be the most popular.

Re: How to permanently delete your Facebook account

#90

Post by scbrg » Wed, Oct 06, 2021, 11:50 AM UTC

unyttigfjelltol wrote: post #83

hnlmorg wrote: post #72

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Messaging clients tend to be regional. WhatsApp is massive in Europe. From what I gather WeChat is dominant in mainland China but Hong Kong still used WhatsApp (though I think they might be coming round to Signal?) and the US, who have a higher ratio of Apple users vs the rest of the world, tend to use iMessage a lot more.

Interoperability between these systems should be a public policy goal. I don't have to buy an AT&T phone anymore to call my friends; not sure why I have to buy iOS to chat with them.

Interoperability is tricky when one set of apps has end to end encryption as a requirement, and the other set has absence of end to end encryption as a requirement.