If you think by deactivation your Facebook account you will be free from the social network, you’re wrong. The social network still keep tabs on you and tracks your online activity. With a deactivated account, Facebook still collects data about your online activities. To remove all your data, Facebook says it will happen if you permanently delete your account. Deactivating is an option for people who wants to change their minds to return to their profiles. Facebook explains that deactivating is a half-step to complete deletion. However, privacy experts warn that the ongoing collection of data from deactivated accounts can be considered misleading.
“Most people would expect less or no data collection during a deactivated period,” said Gabriel Weinberg, CEO and founder of private search engine DuckDuckGo. “Deactivated means cease to operate, and you wouldn’t expect all the wheels to be turning.”
The average person would assume that Facebook pauses data collection when your account is deactivated, said Kathleen McGee, the former chief of the New York State attorney general’s Internet Bureau.
People could look at deactivating accounts and mistake it for an opt-out when it isn’t, she explained.
“For consumer transparency purposes, I would be concerned that this is a deceptive practice,” said McGee, now a technology counsel at the Lowenstein Sandler law firm.
Facebook’s Share button is on 275 million sites and it collects data to allow advertisers to see what kind of content you’re viewing. Facebook is following you even if you don’t have an account. Facebook Audience Network uses your browsing habits to target ads as you surf the internet.
Your best bet to stop the data collection is to delete your account. You’ll get 30 days to change your mind. During that period, Facebook will continue gathering data about you, the company said.
Weinberg suggested that Facebook either change its data collection for deactivated accounts or explain that caveat better to people.
“Companies should always try to match user expectations to whatever feature they’re providing,” Weinberg said.
Surprising consumers is usually a cause for alarm for regulators, McGee said. With Facebook failing to explicitly explain that your data is still being collected, even when your account is deactivated, the former prosecutor argued, a reasonable consumer is being misled.
“Facebook should remedy this by not collecting information when someone has deactivated their account,” McGee said.
