Deleted Facebook and Instagram

This past June of 2018 I deleted my Facebook account. This was the so-called “permanent” deletion and not the “disable” account. After taking the step of deleting my Facebook account I can tell you that I honestly felt FREE. Not like a weight had been lifted, no not like that. Rather a feeling of freedom.

I also took the opportunity to delete my Instagram account.  I liked Instagram, however the only reason I left Instagram was because Facebook owns them. Whatever secret business practices, breach of trust, or privacy invasion Facebook employs, I find it completely reasonable that the identical management practices¹will eventually overtake the Instagram platform if it hasn’t already.

I get it… if its “free” then YOU are the product. As long as that’s up front then a person can make up their own mind about what that actually means² and weigh the degree of important to them.

Let’s take a moment and level-set.

Facebook tells us they are benevolent facilitators of connecting people around the world.

Mission statement³…

“Founded in 2004, Facebook’s mission is to give people the power to build community and bring the world closer together. People use Facebook to stay connected with friends and family, to discover what’s going on in the world, and to share and express what matters to them.”

If that was all there is to it, then Facebook arguably should be a not-for-profit⁴. However, this is not all there is to it, Facebook is a for-profit company with a board of directors that answers to shareholders https://investor.fb.com. This means Facebook’s #1 priority is to generate a profit for its shareholders. This also means that using you as the product is the means by which they generate this profit.

Business practices and privacy decisions about your information (you), which you have agreed to give away freely to Facebook by having an account on their private platform, are made with the focus of generating a profit first and foremost.

I firmly believe there is nothing wrong with for-profit companies. Without profit there is no work to be done, no employee, no employer and no business.

I have no regrets deleting my Facebook & Instagram accounts, and I feel liberated from these private platforms.