Recent changes to Facebook including fake AI profiles, reducing fact checking and allowing offensive content mean it’s worse than ever, and many people are just deleting their accounts. We’ve recently deleted our Facebook page and X/Twitter account. As a small business owner, should you?

As well as illiterate morons arguing and relentless adverts, there’s a real dark side to Facebook. It’s a few years ago now but the Cambridge Analytica scandal shows what their priorities are – money. They were happy to profit from targeted advertising campaigns that enflamed division, contributing to Brexit and Trump gaining power.

This isn’t just about seeing targeted ads for slippers any more – it’s about manipulation of society for profit. Right wing misinformation is often spread through Facebook which certainly isn’t helping anything right now.

Deleting your Facebook Account

They will beg, scold and shame you into not deleting it, because they are evil. Full instructions on how to delete your account at https://deletefacebook.com/ 

“But I can’t because of events, marketplace,  to send Granny cat pics etc”

These things can be useful but some point we need to stop supporting companies that are actively making the world a worse place. We have a choice, and no social media platform should be compulsory to live our lives. You can stay in touch in other ways.

Using a platform helps it stay relevant and profitable doing all the shady things they are doing. Leaving and telling people why helps stop them.

Business Pages

Facebook often create pages for businesses and if we don’t claim them, they could be a problem for our reputation if people start misbehaving on the page. Claiming the page is a good idea and you can use an account just for that, and not install the FB app.

Using Facebook More Privately

I’ve been using Facebook for my business page in the Firefox web browser in a ‘sandboxed‘ tab to improve privacy. This limits the tracking Facebook can do as I don’t use the app and the browser tab doesn’t share cookies with other sites I use in Firefox, or with my main web browser.

And we can always just use it less and don’t engage with anything. I don’t post to my FB page or Instagram account any more but keep the accounts to avoid squatters taking the addresses.

Summary

There are really good reasons to just delete Facebook and not look back including privacy invasion, political interference for profit and now them reducing fact checking and moderation so people can be their worst selves online. If you absolutely need Facebook for whatever reason, it’s possible to use it in a web browser and reduce privacy invasive tracking.