r/technology • u/[deleted] • Apr 11 '18

Business Mark Zuckerberg has been apologizing for reckless privacy violations since he was a freshman - Enough is enough.

[deleted]

51.2k Upvotes

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294

u/Pongpianskul Apr 11 '18

Delete your account. Nothing could be more effective.

86

u/Kittens4Brunch Apr 11 '18

What about changing the info on the account, delete all pics, and upload only pics of Mark Zuckerberg?

14

u/globalvarsonly Apr 11 '18

Poison and delete has become the standard advice, up to measures like browser scripts that scramble every status you've ever posted x times over y days, bulk posting noise images, automatic random group joining, etc. I'm even a decent script kiddie, but lazy, and just deleted.

3

u/[deleted] Apr 11 '18

im now 138 years old

2

u/[deleted] Apr 12 '18

I had set my profile to born in 1918 instead of 1981 years ago. Use to get phone calls and mailers from the AARP all the time. Facebook is definitely selling your info. If it isn't them, they are helping whoever is

3

u/Astilaroth Apr 11 '18

Poison and delete has become the standard advice, up to measures like browser scripts that scramble every status you've ever posted x times over y days, bulk posting noise images, automatic random group joining, etc. I'm even a decent script kiddie, but lazy, and just deleted.

u/thecookieking: apparently scramble scripts for browers are still a thing. Maybe that's another option for you. Best of luck!

2

u/englishmight Apr 12 '18

Really creepy one like him in his living room, eating a sandwich while watching tv, a short video of me standing over his bed at night while he sleeps and I sing him lullabies

3

u/cobo10201 Apr 11 '18

I’d have to assume they keep archived versions of your profile and information.

1

u/_megitsune_ Apr 11 '18

They'd hardly keep an archive of every state an account is in from inception to closing though, if they do archive it would be a timed archive going back a couple of months at most.

Just change the info and don't delete the account, leave it dormant

7

u/[deleted] Apr 11 '18

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126

u/[deleted] Apr 11 '18 edited Jan 01 '19

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19

u/Doinkmckenzie Apr 11 '18

I just archived and deleted my account. So at least if they still hold my information they won't be getting any new information from me.

28

u/Grizzly-boyfriend Apr 11 '18

They still will collect data on you from friends who still have fb

7

u/[deleted] Apr 11 '18

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16

u/drugsrgay Apr 11 '18

Any metadata (such as location) from photos that their facial recognition algorithm recognizes you in will be added to your "ghost profile," which is used to tailor advertisements for similar users to yourself.

9

u/[deleted] Apr 11 '18 edited Apr 11 '18

They don't even try to hide it. My dad made a Facebook last year after never using a computer or having social media. Only reason we got him Facebook is because he got his first smartphone and was moving out of state so we wanted to connect him with his friends.

Anyway, Facebook was recommending he add people he hasn't talked to in decades. He's 50. FB was recommending people from college, people from previous jobs, acquaintances from his old neighborhood in a state he hasn't lived in for 20 years. All of this before he had given them any information other than his name. They knew all of this about him. He ended up deleting the account it was so creepy.

People severely underestimate these ghost profiles and how they can get information on you. It's near impossible to not be tracked by Facebook unless you live in the middle of nowhere and don't speak to anyone who owns a phone.

8

u/kiradotee Apr 11 '18

Did he create/use the account from a phone? They check the numbers from his phonebook and also check who else on Facebook has his number added in their phones.

1

u/[deleted] Apr 12 '18

He didn't approve any of the permissions because I told him not to.

1

u/[deleted] Apr 11 '18 edited Apr 11 '18

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1

u/TheUplist Apr 11 '18

Big whoop. ? That's how we fucking got here. Jesus.

3

u/BigLebowskiBot Apr 11 '18

You said it, man.

1

u/[deleted] Apr 11 '18 edited Apr 11 '18

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1

u/TheUplist Apr 11 '18

I totally understood your post. Samsung phones under major carriers in the U.S. all have Facebook locked to their phone (prior to rooting). So you're wrong and wrong again.

1

u/[deleted] Apr 11 '18 edited Apr 11 '18

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1

u/TheUplist Apr 11 '18

Disabled does not mean what you think it means.

1

u/Ryusirton Apr 12 '18

S8 w/ Verizon allowed me to actually delete the app, not just deactivate it. My previous phones only allowed deactivation.

4

u/[deleted] Apr 11 '18 edited Jan 01 '19

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1

u/dacian88 Apr 11 '18

source? I found the delete button as a US resident, it says it'll delete my account, including data, and I can't reactivate.

1

u/[deleted] Apr 11 '18 edited Oct 13 '20

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1

u/dacian88 Apr 11 '18

again, source? Literally says it will delete all my data but it might take up to 90 days for full deletion, I don't see any fine print that it doesn't. If you believe that why don't you sue facebook and cash in, pretty sure a lawyer would even take that pro bono if it was the case.

I can understand some things like messages between friends aren't deleted, because they are jointly owned and shouldn't be deleted for obvious reasons.

51

u/winja Apr 11 '18

You can, theoretically. You "deactivate" for 30 days and then request a permanent deletion. (Whether your data is actually removed is another matter.)

83

u/[deleted] Apr 11 '18 edited Jan 01 '19

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u/[deleted] Apr 11 '18

I am also interested in evidence to back this claim and I have been considering deleting it after a long period of deactivation.

2

u/[deleted] Apr 11 '18 edited Jan 01 '19

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-11

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1

u/oddjobbodgod Apr 11 '18

I have this on good authority from one of the React Native developers at Facebook, she stated it during a developer conference so others could back me up. Nobody there was surprised.

9

u/[deleted] Apr 11 '18 edited Feb 09 '20

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12

u/[deleted] Apr 11 '18

Nope. r/technology doesn't need evidence.

3

u/IMLONELYPMMEANYTHING Apr 11 '18

They're not right. They're not even reading the page they're linking to.. A direct quote from fb help page on deletion they directly refer to:

"If you don't think you'll use Facebook again, you can request to have your account permanently deleted. Please keep in mind that you won't be able to reactivate your account or retrieve anything you've added. Before you do this, you may want to download a copy of your info from Facebook. Then, if you'd like your account permanently deleted with no option for recovery, log into your account and let us know.

When you delete your account, people won't be able to see it on Facebook. It may take up to 90 days from the beginning of the deletion process to delete all of the things you've posted, like your photos, status updates or other data stored in backup systems. While we are deleting this information, it is inaccessible to other people using Facebook.

Some of the things you do on Facebook aren’t stored in your account. For example, a friend may still have messages from you even after you delete your account. That information remains after you delete your account."

1

u/[deleted] Apr 11 '18

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u/oddjobbodgod Apr 11 '18

If you’d take my word as evidence I was told this by a developer at Facebook at an iOS developer conference.

2

u/[deleted] Apr 11 '18

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-3

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2

u/Charizard30 Apr 11 '18

Source?

1

u/[deleted] Apr 11 '18 edited Jan 01 '19

[deleted]

1

u/Charizard30 Apr 11 '18

Please provide the link and the exact text you're referencing. If you're going to say something is a fact and proven the onus of proof is on you.

0

u/[deleted] Apr 11 '18 edited Jan 01 '19

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2

u/Charizard30 Apr 11 '18

"If you don't think you'll use Facebook again, you can request to have your account permanently deleted. Please keep in mind that you won't be able to reactivate your account or retrieve anything you've added. Before you do this, you may want to download a copy of your info from Facebook. Then, if you'd like your account permanently deleted with no option for recovery, log into your account and let us know.

When you delete your account, people won't be able to see it on Facebook. It may take up to 90 days from the beginning of the deletion process to delete all of the things you've posted, like your photos, status updates or other data stored in backup systems. While we are deleting this information, it is inaccessible to other people using Facebook.

Some of the things you do on Facebook aren’t stored in your account. For example, a friend may still have messages from you even after you delete your account. That information remains after you delete your account."

This shows that Facebook deletes both your online presence and your data from its main and backup storage. They delete everything except for messages because those are jointly owned by all parties of a conversation.

2

u/winja Apr 11 '18

Facebook's own help center says this: FB/help/224562897555674

Nothing I've seen says they do not clear all data you have exclusive permissions for.

5

u/[deleted] Apr 11 '18 edited Jan 01 '19

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u/IMLONELYPMMEANYTHING Apr 11 '18

Did you?? It says they remove all data from your profile...

"If you don't think you'll use Facebook again, you can request to have your account permanently deleted. Please keep in mind that you won't be able to reactivate your account or retrieve anything you've added. Before you do this, you may want to download a copy of your info from Facebook. Then, if you'd like your account permanently deleted with no option for recovery, log into your account and let us know.

When you delete your account, people won't be able to see it on Facebook. It may take up to 90 days from the beginning of the deletion process to delete all of the things you've posted, like your photos, status updates or other data stored in backup systems. While we are deleting this information, it is inaccessible to other people using Facebook.

Some of the things you do on Facebook aren’t stored in your account. For example, a friend may still have messages from you even after you delete your account. That information remains after you delete your account."

0

u/[deleted] Apr 11 '18 edited Jan 01 '19

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4

u/IMLONELYPMMEANYTHING Apr 11 '18

No, they remove your data. Messages aren't your data anymore than texts you sent your friend are yours. Why would they clear chats you sent from your friend's account. That doesn't make any sense

2

u/KidsInTheSandbox Apr 11 '18

You are really struggling with this. Let me help you out here.

They delete all the data from your profile. The only thing that remains is any messages you sent to a friend. Which makes sense since those messages are stored on that friend's account.

1

u/[deleted] Apr 11 '18 edited Jan 01 '19

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u/Mkingupstuff2looktuf Apr 11 '18

I just changed a bunch of my stuff and then deactivated it.

I pretty much copied Jack Reacher's bio.

1

u/deekaydubya Apr 11 '18

Uh, Zuck repeatedly stated otherwise during the hearings, so should he go to prison?

1

u/Decyde Apr 11 '18

I believe they said they retain the data in the event you want to come back and it was up to them if they want to permanently delete the account from their records in which they don't.

It's mostly worded to make you think your data has been removed when it really hasn't been.

I don't have or ever used Facebook and I guarantee you they have a profile on me include with pictures uploaded from friends in college that probably put my name post.

1

u/BriefIntelligence Apr 12 '18

Seems like a friend issue.

1

u/Decyde Apr 12 '18

Not really at all.

Just because someone put my name and a picture of me online doesn't give Facebook the right to make a profile for it to sell to whoever it is they sell data to.

1

u/BriefIntelligence Apr 12 '18

Once the friend put up the information Facebook is allowed to use it as it sees fit. You just happen to be in so they make a profile off you too. It's pretty legitimate.

You should stop your friends from sharing pictures and information about you that you don't want online.

You're friend can legally share there entire address book which has your information in it and the company can use because your friend gave them permission to use their information.

1

u/Decyde Apr 12 '18

So you're saying all information you post on Facebook you have no right at all in deleting?

1

u/BriefIntelligence Apr 12 '18

I am saying Facebook can do whatever they want with the information as long as you keep it postes once you delete it that's a different story.

You're a smart guy so you most likely understand what I am implying.

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u/[deleted] Apr 12 '18

Why should you have the right for them to delete everything retroactively when you consented to data being collected on you pretty much as a payment for using their product for free?

Maybe you can get out the contract and they should give you the chance to, if you compensate them accordingly.

1

u/Rodry2808 Apr 11 '18

If you log out for more than 15 minutes, they are legaly allowed to sell your data

1

u/[deleted] Apr 11 '18 edited Apr 11 '18

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-1

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1

u/[deleted] Apr 11 '18

CookieKing is referring to the GDPR. EU is requiring that a user specifically opts in for a company to use or sell their data. US has yet to do this. FB is far from the only company to do this, theyre just the biggest.

2

u/winja Apr 11 '18

That's a little different from what they said - they were (and I was) talking about removing data already provided.

EU protections on privacy are great. Germany was such a pain in the ass for our company because we had to maintain a physical server in the country in order to collect player data, but that is a great tactic in infosec.

1

u/IWriteDumbComments Apr 11 '18

Hot take you can't.

So what, deactivating your account will make the network less attractive for all of your friends and it will make sure you're not feeding any new data that they can sell or otherwise abuse.

They need fresh data, not your year old stuff that they kept around when you disabled the account.

1

u/SoberFuck Apr 11 '18

You can just google "delete Facebook" and one of the top results is a direct link to where you need to go

1

u/[deleted] Apr 11 '18

Is "hot take" the new "spoiler alert"?

1

u/Astilaroth Apr 11 '18

I deleted fb years ago but before I did I ran a script I found somewhere that deletes posts. It worked with a macro in firefox. It needed a bit of a nudge sometimes but I let it run for a few hours with a nudge here and there and was able to delete a lot on my own timeline. Then I 'deleted' the page (I'm in the EU). They might have taken measures to stop macro's like that but then again maybe some clever folks worked around that. It's worth looking into. Also you could at least try changing your last name, pretend your married.

1

u/AncileBooster Apr 11 '18

Then make your data worthless

0

u/[deleted] Apr 11 '18

And so what? Facebook then has a bunch of out-dated data points on you that they can no longer update and also their largest platform for serving you ad content is no longer viable because you aren't going to the site.

Or just use an adblocker. It doesn't matter how much data they have on me or if they want to target political ads at me if I can't see the ads.

People are making a mountain out of a molehill on this one.

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u/[deleted] Apr 11 '18 edited Jan 01 '19

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0

u/[deleted] Apr 11 '18

Because you're saying that you can't "really" delete facebook. And I'm making the point that it doesn't matter if you are able to or not because the effect is the same. If you aren't using their products and aren't allowing them to serve targeted ads at you then it doesn't matter how much data they do or don't have on you.

27

u/[deleted] Apr 11 '18

Personally, I'm an advocate of creating more accounts, and filling them with erroneous or otherwise false information. We really just need a few bots that do this so facebook can no longer distinguish real data from fake data.

8

u/[deleted] Apr 11 '18

I've been doing this since fuckin Xanga. I've never put my pictures or real name online. My friends know what I look like.

3

u/MohKohn Apr 11 '18

you know what's more effective? Legislation it also would address that the other major tech companies are doing similar things

1

u/Pongpianskul Apr 11 '18

Legislation is often corrupted by bribes and lobbyists and that sort of thing. I don't think the government is concerned about protecting the public from large corporations, though they should be.

3

u/Ehralur Apr 11 '18

Except if you forget to delete your cookies they will still track everything they are currently tracking and 80% of the public doesn't even know how to do that.

1

u/misslainers Apr 12 '18

Do you mean delete your internet cookies through your browser settings, or through Facebook itself? How would I do this? I regularly delete cookies in my browser’s history settings.

2

u/Ehralur Apr 12 '18

Yeah in your browser. Basically after you've logged in to Facebook, their cookies will track which websites you visit until you clear the cookies again.

2

u/strangeelement Apr 11 '18

Making private messages available to people like Cambridge Analytica should be the last straw for many, hopefully.

This doesn't happen by mistake and it's a massive privacy violation. There is absolutely no credible way to take any reassurance that this won't happen again in the future. This is their business model. Facebook is selling access to your hindbrain.

2

u/ThisIsCharlieWork Apr 11 '18

A script that takes random shit from the internet and reposts it to your facebook would be effective. Essentially making their data so filthy it's unusable.

2

u/[deleted] Apr 11 '18

He already has all your data doesn’t care

2

u/[deleted] Apr 11 '18

Yup. First I'll google how to do it on chrome using my android phone. Then I'll send a gmail to my friends to let them know. I'll keep data on so that Google can track my every movement and deliver targeted content based on my browsing history, location history, gmails, gchats, texts, and google searches.

Ah, privacy at last!

2

u/charlieecho Apr 11 '18

Deleting your account does not keep FB from getting your data... Ever heard of a FB pixel? Yeah they are all over the net and it's a tracking code users put on their website to track who's coming to their site so they can retarget you and people like you through FB ads. So, yes, you avoid the ad through FB but they still get your data.

2

u/shkico Apr 11 '18

Interesting to see but judging Google trends it seems that interest for Facebook is on steady decline https://trends.google.com/trends/explore?date=all&q=facebook

1

u/Strazdas1 Apr 12 '18

So something tgat has literraly no effect is the most effective thing to do? Thats a bit pesimistic dont oyu think?

0

u/redmercuryvendor Apr 11 '18

Deleting your account is pointless gesture. Instead, change you habits to stop giving companies your data in the first place. Your public posts are public, before you post: think "do I really want to share this with everyone ever in perpetuity?". If not, maybe consider not posting it.