Horror writer Stephen King has just become the latest to join the #DeleteFacebook movement.
Stephen King, best known for horror fiction including The Shining and Carrie, has just announced he is quitting Facebook. In a tweet, King said he deleted the social network due to misinformation and Facebook’s inability to protect user privacy.
King’s announcement comes at a time when the social network is being attacked from all corners for its inability to protect user data after multiple scandals and data breaches. Facebook is also facing criticism after continuing to take political adverts when rivals such as Twitter stopped last year over the spread of misinformation.
Many people are quitting Facebook already
Stephen King is just the latest big name to delete his Facebook account. Other celebrities who have quit the social network include pop singer Cher, Starwars actor Mark Hamill, actor Will Ferrell and wealthy businessman Elon Musk.
As the #DeleteFacebook movement continues to gain pace, celebrities aren’t the only people quitting. The figures show people are leaving Facebook in droves: the social network’s active users are falling, so even if people haven’t actually deleted their accounts, they have stopped posting and engaging regularly.
Why you should quit Facebook too
Scandals involving Facebook are continuing to mount. The social network came under huge scrutiny around the time of the Cambridge Analytica revelations back in 2018. It has also been the subject of several data breaches over the last two years.
Last year, users of Facebook’s Messenger voice to text functionality were given another reason to delete their accounts when it emerged that contractors were listening to recordings.
Facebook Messenger itself is not a secure way to communicate with friends, because it is not end to end encrypted. Facebook is integrating its back end with WhatsApp and said that it would end to end encrypt Messenger, but these plans appear to be delayed indefinitely.
At the same time, concerns remain about Facebook’s use of facial recognition technology. The company has just agreed to pay $550 million to a group of Facebook users in Illinois, who claimed that the firm’s facial recognition tool violated privacy laws.
Meanwhile, last year it emerged that Facebook had tested a terrifying facial recognition app on employees and their friends.
You can say you will secure your Facebook account, but in reality, this is very difficult to do. Take for example, the new Off-Facebook Activity tool, which the social network says shows you how you are being tracked online. This helps to some extent, but the social network will still be collecting your data.
Deleting Facebook, one step at a time
I’ve outlined just some of the many reasons for deleting your Facebook account. If you are now ready to do so, you need to ensure you are deleting, not deactivating it. If you want to try out deactivating first, Facebook offers a handy guide on how to do it.
To permanently delete your account the steps are as follows:
Click the arrow at the top right of any Facebook page.
Click Settings then click Your Facebook Information in the left column.
Click Deactivation and Deletion.
Choose Delete Account, then click Continue to Account Deletion.
Enter your password, click Continue and then click Delete Account.
Facebook does give you the ability to backtrack on your decision, after 30 days. However, it can take a full 90 days for the social network to completely delete your account.
If you really can’t part with your Facebook account yet, even if you don’t use it often, there’s another way you can help stop Facebook from accessing your data.
Your phone is with you all the time, potentially allowing Facebook to collect your location information. Therefore, if you care about your privacy and security, it’s a good idea to at least delete the Facebook app from your smartphone.
