過去幾周，一系列有關(guān)助選公司Cambridge Analytica濫用Facebook用戶數(shù)據(jù)的內(nèi)幕曝光，廣大用戶刪除Facebook賬戶的呼聲不絕于耳。刪除Facebook運(yùn)動支持者之中還出現(xiàn)名人，包括WhatsApp聯(lián)合創(chuàng)始人布萊恩·阿克頓和特斯拉首席執(zhí)行官埃隆·馬斯克。

現(xiàn)在用戶為了保護(hù)個(gè)人數(shù)據(jù)而離開Facebook，可能迫使Facebook改變處理用戶數(shù)據(jù)的方式。Facebook研究人員也發(fā)現(xiàn)，減少使用社交媒體可能有益心理健康。但真正要刪除Facebook的賬號并不容易，還是有點(diǎn)麻煩的，而且用戶最終可能發(fā)覺自己比想象中要依賴Facebook。

在刪除Facebook賬號攻略的網(wǎng)站DeleteFacebook.com有各種刪號指導(dǎo)，很簡單的方案來自英國開發(fā)者愛德華·坎特。過程看起來很簡單，登入Facebook賬號的刪除頁面，然后點(diǎn)擊刪除按鍵。

但實(shí)際情況要復(fù)雜一些。刪除以前你可能想先下載數(shù)據(jù)，從Facebook上下載數(shù)據(jù)相當(dāng)方便。另一個(gè)麻煩就是之前分享過的數(shù)據(jù)，例如發(fā)送的短信息會一直保留，除非接收信息的用戶手動刪除。

最棘手的問題則是，提交刪除賬號申請兩周后才能真正永久刪除。DeleteFacebook.com就提到了多種可能重置賬號的“勾引激活花招”，包括用Facebook登錄第三方應(yīng)用或者網(wǎng)站，或者使用其他程序以你的身份在Facebook發(fā)帖。這意味著，正式刪除以前你還得撤銷此前給各種第三方應(yīng)用的授權(quán)。

等到瀏覽一長串需要撤銷授權(quán)的應(yīng)用時(shí)，你可能才會意識到隱私受到多大影響。從眾籌平臺Kickstarter到在線存儲服務(wù)商Dropbox，很多大零售商、服務(wù)供應(yīng)商和平臺都鼓勵(lì)用戶用Facebook的賬號直接登陸。多年來，這成為驗(yàn)證網(wǎng)絡(luò)身份這個(gè)棘手問題的有效方法，也是Facebook很精明的一步，F(xiàn)acebook由此將用戶鎖定在范圍更廣大的生態(tài)系統(tǒng)里。對許多用戶來說，“刪除Facebook”也意味著日常愛用的服務(wù)都得重新設(shè)定登陸方式。

所以過不了多久，刪除Facebook就會變得像電影《教父》系列主角之一邁克爾·柯里昂想脫離黑幫一樣——你剛以為離開，卻發(fā)現(xiàn)就被拽了回去。有些人會認(rèn)為刪除賬號過程的各種折騰和麻煩很值得，但另一些人可能覺得只要以后加緊隱私保護(hù)就可以了。

對一些感到擔(dān)憂的美國人而言，還有個(gè)略顯極端的選擇：轉(zhuǎn)戰(zhàn)歐洲。今年5月，一項(xiàng)全面保障數(shù)據(jù)權(quán)利的法律——《一般數(shù)據(jù)保護(hù)條例》將在歐盟地區(qū)生效。雖然目前該法律的實(shí)際效果還很難說，但其目的是避免用戶的個(gè)人數(shù)據(jù)遭到濫用。畢竟，不少用戶真是受夠了馬克·扎克伯格的Facebook。（財(cái)富中文網(wǎng)）

譯者：Feb

The past week’s series of revelations about the misuse of Facebook user data by the election firm Cambridge Analytica has led to widespread calls for users to delete their accounts. Prominent supporters of deleting Facebook now include WhatsApp co-founder Brian Acton and Tesla CEO Elon Musk.

Individuals leaving Facebook are protecting their own data, and could pressure the company into reforming the way it handles everyone else’s. According to Facebook’s own researchers, less social media could also be good for your mental health. But the process of truly deleting an account is at least a little tricky – and along the way, you might find out you were more dependent on Facebook than you thought.

One of the best guides to deleting an account can be found at DeleteFacebook.com, created by a U.K. developer named Edward Cant. On its face, the process seems simple – go to Facebook’s account deletion page and press one button.

But there’s a bit more to it than that. Before deleting, you probably want to download your data, including photos and messages, which Facebook makes fairly simple. Another hitch is that shared data, such as messages, will remain accessible by other users unless they delete it on their end.

The biggest catch, though, is that your account deletion won’t be permanent for two weeks after you start the process. DeleteFacebook.com describes a number of “reactivation traps” that reset that counter, including logging in via Facebook to any third-party apps or websites, or using any programs that post to Facebook on your behalf. That means you probably want to to revoke permissions for those apps before starting your deletion.

Going through the list of apps might be the moment when you realize just how much you’ve bitten off. Many major retailers, services, and platforms, from Kickstarter to Dropbox, encourage users to log in with their Facebook credentials. For years, that has been a useful solution to the thorny problem of online identity – and a canny strategy for Facebook to lock users in to its broader ecosystem. For many users, “deleting Facebook” will also require creating new logins for their favorite services.

So before long, leaving Facebook starts to feel like Michael Corleone’s attempt to leave the mafia – just when you think you’re out, they pull you back in. For some, the effort and hassle will be worth it, while others may settle for clamping down their privacy settings.

There is one other, admittedly extreme approach for worried Americans – move to Europe. A comprehensive data rights law known as the General Data Protection Regulation goes into effect there later this year. Though the law’s real impacts are hard to predict, it’s designed to protect users from just the sort of abuse that has so many fed up with Mark Zuckerberg’s brainchild.