Facebook increases account deletion grace period to 30 days

You may be determined to delete Facebook from your life after the Cambridge Analytica scandal and hacking reports, but the company wants to give you extra time for a change of heart. A spokesperson for the social site has confirmed to The Verge that it expanded the account deletion grace period from 14 to 30 days, giving you up to a whole month to revive your presence. According to Facebook, people have tried to sign into deleted accounts after 14 days. This offers an opportunity to make a "fully informed choice," the spokesperson said.

While the extension does offer some added flexibility, there's likely a very pragmatic reason behind it: the longer you have to restore your account, the more likely you are to come back. People who deleted their accounts in a moment of outrage (say, after a privacy breach) might not feel like they have to commit to that decision knowing their data will still be waiting for them weeks later.

There is a downside. If you are bent on deleting your account, Facebook won't truly scrub your data for another two weeks beyond its previous grace period. You're not very likely to see a breach during that interval, but it could be frustrating if you wanted to wash your hands of the service.

:story: Endgadget