BBC Homepage
  • Skip to content
  • Accessibility Help
  • Your account
  • Notifications
  • Home
  • News
  • Sport
  • Weather
  • iPlayer
  • Sounds
  • Bitesize
  • CBBC
  • CBeebies
  • Food
  • More menu
More menu
Search BBC
  • Home
  • News
  • Sport
  • Weather
  • iPlayer
  • Sounds
  • Bitesize
  • CBBC
  • CBeebies
  • Food
Close menu
BBC News
Menu
  • Home
  • InDepth
  • Israel-Gaza war
  • War in Ukraine
  • Climate
  • UK
  • World
  • Business
  • Politics
  • Culture
More
  • Tech
  • Science
  • Health
  • Family & Education
  • In Pictures
  • Newsbeat
  • BBC Verify
  • Disability
  • BBC Trending

WhatsApp co-founder says it is time to delete Facebook

  • Published
    21 March 2018
Share page
About sharing
Facebook logos of varying size and shapeImage source, AFP
By Tom Gerken
BBC UGC & Social News

"It is time. #deletefacebook."

After reports of Cambridge Analytica using Facebook's user information came to light, people across social media have begun to urge others to either #DeleteFacebook or #BoycottFacebook in response.

One surprising voice has joined this movement - WhatsApp co-founder Brian Acton.

Mr Acton left the company in 2017, three years after Facebook bought WhatsApp for $19bn (£11.4bn at the then exchange rates) in 2014.

This X post cannot be displayed in your browser. Please enable Javascript or try a different browser.View original content on X
The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.
Skip X post by Brian Acton

Allow X content?

This article contains content provided by X. We ask for your permission before anything is loaded, as they may be using cookies and other technologies. You may want to read X’s cookie policy, external and privacy policy, external before accepting. To view this content choose ‘accept and continue’.

The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.
End of X post by Brian Acton

You may also like:

  • How to protect your Facebook data

  • 'You are being programmed,' former Facebook executive warns

  • How young is too young to be on social media?

"We all moved on from MySpace. We can move on from Facebook too."

This was a typical message found on Twitter, external in the wake of accusations over Cambridge Analytica using personal data from 50 million Facebook users to influence the US presidential election in 2016.

The #DeleteFacebook hashtag appeared to gain traction after one Twitter user quoted a BBC Stories tweet from 2017, external - an interview with Theresa Wong about Cambridge Analytica, originally broadcast on BBC Two in the series Secrets of Silicon Valley.

Four quotes were taken from the interview to infer Facebook's role in Donald Trump's 2016 US election victory, such as "Facebook was our hands-on partner," and "Without Facebook we wouldn't have won," coupled with the call to #DeleteFacebook in response.

This X post cannot be displayed in your browser. Please enable Javascript or try a different browser.View original content on X
The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.
Skip X post 2 by Theodore Grunewald

Allow X content?

This article contains content provided by X. We ask for your permission before anything is loaded, as they may be using cookies and other technologies. You may want to read X’s cookie policy, external and privacy policy, external before accepting. To view this content choose ‘accept and continue’.

The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.
End of X post 2 by Theodore Grunewald

This seemed to be the starting point for people to begin expressing their desire to leave Facebook, with blink-182's Mark Hoppus amassing over 6,000 likes, external in 24 hours for simply tweeting the words "Delete Facebook".

But the irony of using one social media account to decry another was not lost on some people.

One comment on a Reddit thread about the #DeleteFacebook movement, external joked "the rally cry to delete from Facebook is now trending as a hashtag on Twitter - another social media site that gathers data on users".

  • Reddit admits hosting Russian propaganda

  • Reddit holds the secret to fixing Facebook

And a person on Twitter suggested, external because Instagram is owned by Facebook, "if you delete one, you gotta delete the other".

Neither Twitter nor Instagram are accused of using personal data in a similar way to the dispute concerning Cambridge Analytica and Facebook, although one person suggested an extreme approach to data security as the solution.

This X post cannot be displayed in your browser. Please enable Javascript or try a different browser.View original content on X
The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.
Skip X post 3 by Sonny Bunch

Allow X content?

This article contains content provided by X. We ask for your permission before anything is loaded, as they may be using cookies and other technologies. You may want to read X’s cookie policy, external and privacy policy, external before accepting. To view this content choose ‘accept and continue’.

The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.
End of X post 3 by Sonny Bunch

A spokeswoman for Privacy International warned that privacy concerns extend beyond Facebook as "your data is being exploited all the time".

A person on the technology subsection of Reddit agreed, external, saying removing Facebook "doesn't solve the long term problem [because] consent to data use is very weakly protected online right now".

And one Twitter user seeking regulation of Facebook said having the ability to delete an account is "a privilege".

This X post cannot be displayed in your browser. Please enable Javascript or try a different browser.View original content on X
The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.
Skip X post 4 by Sheera Frenkel

Allow X content?

This article contains content provided by X. We ask for your permission before anything is loaded, as they may be using cookies and other technologies. You may want to read X’s cookie policy, external and privacy policy, external before accepting. To view this content choose ‘accept and continue’.

The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.
End of X post 4 by Sheera Frenkel

More on this story

  • How to protect your Facebook data

    • Published
      20 March 2018
    circle of friends
  • 'You are being programmed' - ex-Facebook VP

    • Published
      12 December 2017
    Eye with Facebook logo inside
  • Can a Facebook friend request be 'harassment'?

    • Published
      31 October 2017
    Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy
  • Facebook: Now for young children too

    • Published
      5 December 2017

Top stories

  • Live. 

    US justice department asks court to release certain Epstein files as Trump sues Murdoch

    • 10286 viewing10k viewing
  • Boy, 10, dead as nine in hospital after coach crash

    • Published
      4 hours ago
  • Amber warning as thunderstorms set to bring flash floods

    • Published
      3 hours ago

More to explore

  • 'There were bodies everywhere': Druze residents describe 'bloodbath' in Syrian city Suweida

    A health worker and other men walk in a hospital courtyard, past the bodies of victims of the recent clashes in Syria's southern city of Suweida on 17 July 2025
  • Why 2025 is a scarily good year for horror movies

    A still from I Know What You Did Last Summer shows actress Madelyn Cline with her hands clasped to her face, mid-scream. She's inside a house at night with large bay windows behind her.
  • How history-chasing Italy can threaten England at Euro 2025

    • Attribution
      Sport
    Italy celebrate after reaching the semi-finals of Euro 2025 with victory over Norway
  • Kill Russian soldiers, win points: Is Ukraine's new drone scheme gamifying war?

    A Ukrainian soldier wears a headset to pilot a drone
  • Israel levelling thousands of Gaza civilian buildings in controlled demolitions

    A promotional image for a BBC Verify story with branding. A soldier with his head turned away from the camera can be seen in the middle. On either side of him are images of destroyed buildings.
  • Relentless immigration raids are changing California's way of life

    Two protesters in dust masks film federal troops in gas masks in a field of crops in Southern California. One protester flies a Mexican flag
  • Weekly quiz: Why is Kew Garden's Palm House closing?

    Interior view of the Palm House at Kew.
  • How bad is Afghan data breach for MI6 and SAS?

    Two poppy wreaths lie in front of a stone memorial that has Afghanistan written on it.
  • Summer Essential: Your family’s guide to the summer, delivered to your inbox every Tuesday

    concentric circles ranging from orange to yellow to represent the sun, with a blue sky background
loading elsewhere stories

Most read

  1. 1

    Amber warning as thunderstorms set to bring flash floods

  2. 2

    Airport accused 'didn't know' he hit female PCs

  3. 3

    Boy, 10, dead as nine in hospital after coach crash

  4. 4

    Dog who helped police Queen's funeral dies after car crash

  5. 5

    More than 30 poisoned after suspected fake Botox

  6. 6

    Three killed in explosion at Los Angeles police training facility

  7. 7

    Man dies after car crashes onto railway tracks

  8. 8

    UK's asylum hotel bill down 30%, government says

  9. 9

    Royal swan count sees numbers resurface after dip

  10. 10

    Mum jailed for using children to smuggle cocaine

BBC News Services

  • On your mobile
  • On smart speakers
  • Get news alerts
  • Contact BBC News

Best of the BBC

  • Martin Scarsden faces a new mystery

    • Attribution
      iPlayer
    Scrublands S2
  • Sinister events in an old Spanish town

    • Attribution
      Sounds
    Uncanny: Summer Specials
  • Ghosts US returns for series 4

    • Attribution
      iPlayer
    Ghosts US S4
  • What does it take to build the perfect athlete?

    • Attribution
      Sounds
    The Infinite Monkey Cage
  • Home
  • News
  • Sport
  • Weather
  • iPlayer
  • Sounds
  • Bitesize
  • CBBC
  • CBeebies
  • Food
  • Terms of Use
  • About the BBC
  • Privacy Policy
  • Cookies
  • Accessibility Help
  • Parental Guidance
  • Contact the BBC
  • Make an editorial complaint
  • BBC emails for you

Copyright © 2025 BBC. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read about our approach to external linking.