Don’t Just Deactivate Facebook—Delete It Instead

Facebook has been under fire of late. The Mark Zuckerberg-owned firm is suffering as Apple’s privacy changes combined with a tough economic climate hit revenues.

Then this week Facebook owner Meta confirmed it was trialling subscriptions, with users asked to pay for extra support when using the social network and its sister site Instagram. Some Facebook users saw this as the beginning of the end; something that Google search trends confirm.

Searches for the terms “deactivate Facebook” and “deactivate Instagram” have surged since the Meta announcement on Google Trends, VPNOverview has pointed out. Searches for “Deactivate Facebook” increased by 1,566% following Meta’s announcement, while “Deactivate Instagram” searches are up by 2,400%, peaking on 19 February, according to the data.

The Meta subscription service—which allows people to get verified along with receiving a set of premium services—is rolling out in Australia and New Zealand initially, with other markets to be added later on as Facebook owner Meta gauges reactions. Currently, the idea is for a monthly subscription to be available for (USD) $11.99 on the web and (USD) $14.99 on iOS and Android.

Meta Verified is only really aimed at high-profile users, who may want extra protection from being hacked. But of course, it’s easy to see the move as a shift towards everyone paying for Facebook. After all, companies including Meta need a way to claw back revenue amid increasing data protection regulation and people caring more about their privacy.

You shouldn’t just deactivate Facebook—delete it instead

It’s certainly no surprise that Meta’s latest move is leading to more searches to deactivate Facebook. But it’s important to note that deactivating Facebook is actually pretty pointless—it simply means you can’t use the social network, but it still has access to all your data.

“Once you create an account on Facebook, your data is analysed and stored on Meta’s servers even after the account is deactivated,” says Jake Moore, global cybersecurity advisor at ESET. “This can often include highly personal information and it can be almost impossible to limit this data exchange to obtain the account itself,” he warns.

There are lots of reasons to delete Facebook—especially if you don’t like companies getting hold of your data and using it for advertising. While there are ways to increase your privacy when using the social network and the settings to do so, some people have decided to come off Facebook altogether.

If you haven’t made a firm decision, by all means deactivate Facebook—just ensure you are aware that you’ll need to delete it in order to avoid data collection.

Another way of limiting your use of Facebook is to delete the app from your phone, which limits the data the social network can collect.

If you have decided to delete Facebook, don’t forget to download data such as photos which you might want to save somewhere else. Reset all your usernames and passwords that you might use Facebook to log into.

On a browser, go to Settings & Privacy > Settings > Your Facebook Information > Deactivation and Deletion > Permanently Delete Account > Delete Account.

On your phone go to Settings & Privacy > Settings > Account Ownership and Control > Deactivation and Deletion > Delete Account.

Also delete the Facebook app and revoke all permissions.