Is the information you share with others via FaceBook, your photos, your comments, your likes and dislikes, your friends, your politics, your personal preferences in art, food, and entertainment ever going to be removed from Facebook?
Yes, you can stop feeding the machine, the process is relatively simple, here s the only link you need -” I want to cancel my Facebook account ” A few clicks later, you’re out.
No, it doesnt go away. Facebook retains the information you have already given them, saying that many users reactivate their accounts within weeks of cancellation, and so, by retaining the data, they are then able to restore the repentant returning user.
Why they are retaining it FOREVER is another question.
Your grandfather dies, they keep his data, the account you made for your dog, dog long gone, Facebook still keeping the photos, and everything else. Kind of creepy.
Obviously data is what Facebook advertising is built on, so the commercial reasoning is obvious but the concept of individuals willingly sacrificing personal benefit – the control of their personal information – seems to be a concept about to be disrupted in a major way by blockchain technology, which will allow the individual to control the data they wish to share, and to set a price for that use. Just as the centralized taxi business is seeing a revolution through ride sharing decentralized transport services, the decentralization of data gathering and control could create a much more egalitarian marketplace for that data. We shall wait and hope.