Each day the news gets worse. It's front page news in the Wall Street Journal (and other news outlets) on a daily basis- how FB violated your personal privacy. According to WSJ (4/5/18: "data breeches 0were far more extensive than previously known." Data from 87 million users was shared with Cambridge Analytica, the company that messed with the 2016 presidential elections with fake news to help the Russian interfere with our election. FB admits to these abuses.
nothing new, Back in 2011 the federal Trade Commission revealed that FB "deceived customers by telling them they could keep their information private, but then allowed it to be made public" (WSJ 4.5/18, p. A4).
First: It was a BIG mistake to register with real information: your real name, real birth date, etc. How naive to trust a corporation with this information. While FB is updating its services to supposedly better protect users and give more control over how their personal information is used, it way past that point. FB has completely lost the trust of users. Your email address and phone numbers have been shared with companies you did not agree to.
It is clear that FB cannot be trusted. Yes, your personal information is "out there." You can't change that but you can take steps to protect your privacy in the future. So now FB is providing more info on how they use your data. It is revising its term of service. Great. Nice to Know. NOT! In addition to these breeches, FB also shares your information with Instagram, WhatsApp, and Oculus.
It is clear that FB cannot be trusted... so what can you do? The WSJ has been very helpful in publishing a series of articles about how to change your information and even how to delete your account.
You can request a lost of all the info you've posted. "One of the more shocking things some users discovered in their files was a list of phone calls and text messages." (K. Bindley, WSJ 3/30/18B4). As FB explained: when you share info like a phone number or email address with a business, they can match that info to your FB profile. Any app which you linked to - they all obtained info from your FB account. Even when you try to "Delete my account" many users are finding they cannot proceed because the system tells them their passwords (which they just used to log on) are incorrect. (source: K. Bindley, WSJ, 4/6/18, B4.) Deleting an account is different from "deactivating" it. To delete go to FB help center. after clicking "let us know" you get ""Delete my account" which leads to another box that asks for password and a captcha puzzle. This is where the problem appears. Keep trying... maybe it will work for you. If you want to delete- first download your data: pictures, posts, messages, etc. FB will hold on to your data for 90 days (or maybe forever).
You can "deactivate" your account: choose downward arrow at top right page corner. Go to Settings, then Manage Account. Scroll down to Deactivate Your Account.
FB is supposedly curbing the data it shares/sells to other companies. However, the horse is out of the barn. Zuckerberg has apologized... wow! that's easy to do. One lesson to be learned: NEVER give out your real information online: Name, birth date, email address, anything.
Time to take charge of your personal information and stop being naive. Wipe the slate as clean as possible and be a more prudent internet user. Think of all the extra time you'll have when you stop using Facebook!
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