Facebook’s Latest Privacy Scandal Has Some People Rethinking The Social Media Site

CHARLOTTE, NC — Facebook’s latest privacy scandal has some people rethinking the social media site. But getting rid of the social network may not be as easy as you think.

With 2.2 billion users experts say Facebook has become such a large platform, advertisers see the social media site as a gold mine.

For some,  Facebook is like an ex that just won’t leave them alone.

“I went back in to make sure it was gone and it was like welcome back we’ve reactivated you, and I was like I want to get off, not back,” says Facebook user Adam Petaccia.

If breaking up with Facebook is what you do want to do, it takes more than just a click of a mouse.

“They don’t want you to delete it. They know that a significant percentage of the population is invested in this social media platform, it’s a huge revenue generator, so if they start to lose users, they’ll start to lose advertisers,” says Director of Marketing and Communications at the BBB Page Castrodale.

To permanently delete your account, you need to make a request to the company, and that process alone can take  several days. If you log in during this time, your request will be canceled. It can take up to 90 days to delete everything.

There’s a less permanent way to leave, you can  deactivate your account. It essentially makes your profile dormant, hiding it from everyone but lets you return if you change your mind.

If you do delete Facebook, you’ll have to create new usernames and passwords for some apps and websites.