When Ken Ji learned the scope of Facebook’s most recent data controversy, he knew it was time to have the proverbial “talk” with the social-networking app.
On Tuesday, Ji deleted the app from his phone and is preparing to delete his account entirely after reports that political-consulting firm Cambridge Analytica harvested private data from more than 50 million Facebook users in order to influence political campaigns.
But dumping the app, which he uses to keep in touch with family in his native Australia as well as to be reminded of friends’ birthdays, is an emotional decision, and one that he’s easing into.
“It feels like a breakup, but one that should have happened five years ago,” says Ji, a 28-year-old tech employee who lives in Hell’s Kitchen. He says he’s long been skeptical of the way Facebook targets ads to users, although he’s still grappling with how he’ll communicate with family and friends back home without the use of the platform’s Messenger app.
In a tweet, Ji joined the droves of users proudly proclaiming their intent to #DeleteFacebook, a hashtag that went viral this week after reports questioned whether Facebook could have done more to stop the data mining, which used people’s profiles to create ads targeted to their personalities, according to reports by the New York Times and the Observer of London.
The breakups aren’t the only consequences: Facebook stock is down and members of both the Senate and British Parliament called upon founder Mark Zuckerberg to testify. The Federal Trade Commission has also reportedly opened an investigation into Facebook’s handling of personal data. “You deserve to have your information protected — and we’ll keep working to make sure you feel safe on Facebook,” Zuckerberg said in a statement on Wednesday. The company says it will implement policies to regain users’ trust.
“There’s this new, unprecedented frustration with data sharing and breaches of privacy that, perhaps, we knew or were suspicious of, and now we have hard, terrifying numbers to confirm those suspicions,” says Gennie Gebhart, a researcher at the nonprofit Electronic Frontier Foundation.
Still, breaking up is hard to do. Ray Melnik, a novelist who works in information technology, uses Facebook just about every day. It’s how he stays in touch with his two college-aged children, learns about his friends’ art shows and promotes his books.
“I kind of always knew you were giving up a portion of your privacy — it’s kind of the price of having it,” says the 60-year-old from Staten Island. “But, for me, it has more benefits than drawbacks.”
He questions whether all the people who say they’ll #DeleteFacebook can really pry themselves from the network’s grips.
“They always come back,” he says.
Shawn O’Hara began the process of deleting his Facebook account this week, removing the app from his phone and iPad and unlinking his profile from the other apps he uses his Facebook account to log in to. The 47-year-old interior designer from Rochester, NY, lost hope that the social-media company would ever advocate for his privacy. The Cambridge Analytica reports were the last straw, he says.
“It’s been a bit freeing,” he says of the slow process of disconnecting himself from the network.
“There’s a bunch of stuff on there from the past 10 years that maybe I don’t want to think about anymore,” such as a breakup from his partner and the death of his younger brother, he says.
Facebook still sends him painfully cheery reminders of when he and his sibling became friends. “All these things add up,” he says.
Steve Alberts, a self-proclaimed “Facebook junkie,” went through the 10-minute process of downloading his old pictures and posts and then deleting his account on Wednesday. “Facebook has proven that it can’t be trusted,” Alberts says.
He’ll have 14 days before the decision becomes permanent, per Facebook’s policy.
“I’d like to think I won’t change my mind,” says the 51-year-old from Ditmas Park who works in digital marketing. “It feels good right now. But ask me in a few days.”