Is Facebook undeletable? According to Bloomberg, it will become increasingly more difficult to delete the Facebook (NASDAQ:FB) App from your phone—even if you don’t want it on there. So if you thought Facebook was actually considering your privacy once and for all, then brace yourself, because this news is going to hurt.
Facebook Undeletable
The social media giant has inked an undisclosed number of agreements with Android smartphone makers, mobile carriers and OSes across the globe. The deals mean its app will not only be preloaded onto phones, but it will also be undeletable.
Facebook undeletable? Really? I’m afraid so.
My sympathies go out to those who thought they could get away from the prying company. Of course, you can’t.
Old News for Some
Some may already notice this phenomenon on their personal devices. I, for one, have. On my 1.5-year-old LG G6; the Facebook app is undeletable… and always has been. I have tried on many occasions to remove it as someone who does not use Facebook anymore but to no avail.
Worryingly, I am not alone. According to the Bloomberg report, several US owners of different phones including the two-year-old Samsung Galaxy S8 have the same problem.
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Disabled
So while the deals have only been disclosed as of yesterday, this has obviously been another Facebook ‘thing’ for some time now.
The app comes pre-loaded and cannot be deleted. Facebook says that it can, however, be “disabled.”
However, just like with Facebook’s general fine print, nobody really knows what ‘disabled,’ actually means. And Facebook certainly isn’t telling us.
Spokesperson
Facebook has said that once the app is disabled, it doesn’t collect data any more or send information back to the company. Samsung has backed this up by saying that it only provides a pre-installed Facebook app on “selected models” and that once it is disabled “the app is no longer running.”
However, I can’t be the only skeptic of these statements, can I? What do you think? Are we doomed to forever be followed by the ‘Big Brother’ eye of Facebook?
Featured Image: Depositphotos © VadimVasenin
