Get A REAL Social Life – How To Delete Facebook in 2024?

Apart from VPN services, we also discuss protecting your privacy. Just how invasive has Facebook become in your social life? Are you aware of the company’s highly invasive tactics when it comes to personal information gathering that they then offer the highest advertising bidders?  If you feel it’s time to get a real social life here’s how to delete Facebook account details permanently.

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High profile accusations, fines and further actions pending:

While Facebook may project a caring image, too many minds this really should be altered and amended to a sharing image. Because we’re here miles away from our research for the best VPN no logs. It’s more Big Brother in this case.

They have no qualms about mining, collating and sharing your personal information. This major intrusion into personal data use should jolt anyone who believes the company has individual personal interest heart back to reality.

Recent high-profile accusations backed up by leaked documents have certainly put the world’s largest social media in a spotlight. One they would much rather have avoided.

The fact is that these revelations clearly reveal how the company has been ruthlessly capturing user information for re-sell profit purposes. News of this has led to a surge in users deciding to delete Facebook account details.

No real qualms in who they target or how they achieve this:

They clearly have no qualms about targeting vulnerable groups such as teenagers who indicated on posts that they were feeling down and in need of a lift, and the recent $122 million fine handed out by the EU related to charges that the company misled regulators during its WhatsApp acquisition of 2014 clearly show their contempt.

The basis of this proven allegation was that Facebook was not honest with regard to its ability in identifying users who had both a Facebook and WhatsApp account.

delete facebook account

Once again this was followed by swift reactions from users who were either looking at how to deactivate Facebook (which has very different repercussions) and those who decide to permanently delete Facebook. We will get into both topics shortly, but just to say that the heat is certainly not off Facebook yet.

They, along with Google are now facing fines that could total a combined $ 9.3 billion for breaking EU GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation). This regulation is designed to give European users more control over how their personal information is used online.

The maximum penalty for any company found guilty of flouting this regulation is a fine amounting to a maximum of 4% of a company’s income. In Facebook’s case, this would be $ 1.63 billion x 3 against Facebook and their Instagram and WhatsApp services.

The basis of these latest allegations – “Take it or leave it”:

The European privacy advocacy group (Noyb.eu) who have raised the latest allegations have done so based on what they see as mass breaches of personal privacy violations.

They claim “take it or leave it” was the only approach given to individual personal privacy. Basically, if a user did not agree to accept a whole host of ‘consent boxes’ that regularly pop up during online registration or applications, they were given a veiled threat that “the service can no longer be used if user(s) do not consent”.

Think back to any registration or application processes you have been through. If this rankled with you, it may now be time to learn how to permanently delete Facebook.

Deactivate Facebook account or delete?

There is a big difference between data kept when you look at how to deactivate Facebook. This is in contrast to what happens to your personal information if you decide to go the whole hog and permanently delete Facebook accounts.

how to permanently delete facebook

The process of how to deactivate Facebook is a fairly straightforward one, but it is important to understand that deactivation does not mean a delete Facebook account attempt has taken place.

  • Deactivate Facebook: By following deactivation procedures you are simply putting your account on hold. All personal information currently stored will remain stored. Please take this as read, but any skeptics out there simply need to go through the process of how to deactivate Facebook, leave the account deactivated for as long as they wish then reactivate it. They will find that information is still there and eagerly awaiting restoration.
  • Delete Facebook account: If you view what personal data is on ‘record’ and deem this to be overly intrusive, then you should take a firm stance to permanently delete Facebook account details. Here’s how that can be achieved:

How to permanently delete Facebook:

For many waking up to the intrusive actions of Facebook’s data gathering policies understanding how to deactivate Facebook is simply not going far enough. They need to go through the process of how to delete Facebook permanently. By doing so they will eventually have all of that precious information removed.

There is every chance that by going through the following process of how to delete Facebook accounts you will feel a sense of liberation once complete.

It will give you the opportunity to get on with other far more rewarding things and actually get out and about to enrich your social life as and when you please.

The amount of time spent updating profiles, and therefore releasing far more personal data for Facebook to collate, and checking on friend’s activities and posts really can get out of hand.

Here is that liberation process!

how to delete facebook

To delete Facebook account:

You need to understand the first point clearly and then proceed with the rest of the steps.

  • Deletion means irretrievable data: First, you need to understand that once you complete the process of how to delete Facebook accounts there will be no way to gain future access to it. All content, including that which was ripe for data mining purposes, will be irretrievable.
  • Deleting linked applications: While connected to Facebook the majority of us use the account for login to other applications. Think WhatsApp, Instagram, Snapchat, Pinterest or Spotify (the list goes on). While this may be ultra-convenient, and make no mistake, it has purposely been constructed that way! It does mean that each time you do this personal information is released that others can access and store for their own future use. Your first step in relation to how to permanently delete Facebook and freeing those Facebook shackles is to remove all apps that are linked to your Facebook account.
  • Go to the top right-hand corner of your Facebook page using your browser (not an onion browser) and click on the arrow. Select “Settings”, click on “Apps” (this is positioned in the column on the left-hand side of the page).
  • Click the edit button under “Apps, websites and plug-ins” Once this platform is disabled you can then set about deleting all apps that are linked to your soon to be deleted account.
  • Removal of activity history: The next step in terms of how to delete Facebook accounts is to get rid of those oversized virtual footprints. They have left a heavy trail detailing your recent activity. Go to the downward arrow menu, choose and select “Activity Log” then proceed to use the edit button to either delete or unlike every action that happens to be listed in this log.
  • Backing up data: For many users going through the process of how to permanently delete Facebook accounts it is worth bearing in mind that you may well wish to save, for your own personal use, information posted. This includes such things as photos and friends names/contact details. To do this you should download a backup of your account data.
  • Go to the settings menu, and in “General Account Settings” choose the option which allows you to download a copy of all your existing data.
  • An email will then be received providing a link to your download archive. Once you activate this link by clicking on it the archive file (zip file format) will be saved directly to the Downloads folder on your computer or device. Once downloaded, click to open it. You will find all of your photos, HTML files listing friends, advertiser’s information and details of other intrusive sites that really are the reason you have decided to delete Facebook account access.
  • Account deactivation is now the forced route! If you were not already aware of how determined Facebook is to keep you (well, keep your precious personal information) the next ‘forced’ route is a clear indication. Talk about red herrings! You will very clearly see the icon showing how to deactivate Facebook account, but not what you are really looking for in terms of how to delete Facebook account details. If you do happen to get cold feet at this stage you can follow the deactivation process but remember all of your information will be on record until, or if ever you decide to reactivate the account.
  • F is for Facebook Deletion! Please do not get too excited just yet, finding the link to delete Facebook account forever is a very stiff task. It can be achieved by clicking on the help menu and searching for “delete account”. The answer you will receive is a “let us know” link, many will dismiss this, don’t! By clicking on this link it will redirect you to a page that finally gives up resistance and allows access to a link on how to permanently delete Facebook accounts. The final act of Facebook freedom will be achieved when you enter your password and complete the Captcha

Final words on the above procedure – How to delete Facebook accounts:

Although I said you were now Facebook free you need to understand that even though you have gone through the demanding process of how to permanently delete Facebook account details and clearly indicated (via that hidden link!) you want nothing more to do with the service, the company, in their wisdom, will hold onto all of your information and postpone your delete Facebook account request for 14 days in the hope you will have a change of mind. As an aside, did it take you 14 days (or 14 minutes) to register and create your account?

The company will view that you have changed your mind if you access Facebook or ANY affiliated site during this 2-week period. By doing so, your account will automatically be reinstated, you will be dragged back into the Facebook fold, and to escape you will have to go through the whole process above once more!

A breath of fresh air once you have deleted your account:

Upon completion of how to delete Facebook account details, you should escape any self-imposed house arrest!

For that initial 2-week period, get up and get out. Fresh air is an empowering thing, what is more, after this period you will find the air, and the physical enjoyment of actually meeting people is a refreshing and rewarding experience!

‘Till Later!

Adam Rogers

Meet Adam, a highly knowledgeable webmaster individual with a Master's Degree in Cybersecurity and Privacy, who brings his expertise in Internet-related topics to make a significant contribution to this site, driven by a desire to give back to the community. With extensive experience in Internet and privacy matters, he remains up-to-date with the latest developments, ensuring the team is well-informed about privacy protection, legal, and regulatory issues. Adam's unwavering dedication fosters a safer digital environment while empowering others with his valuable insights. You are welcome to contact Adam by email: adam@privacycritic.com

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