On Saturday the Observer revealed how data associated with 50m Facebook profiles was exploited by the company Cambridge Analytica. Since then the company which offers services to political parties and businesses who want to “change audience behaviour,” has been found to influence the Brexit vote, the US and Nigerian elections.



Speaking publicly for the first time days after the report, Mark Zuckerberg admitted Facebook has “made mistakes” and is “really sorry that this happened”.



Play Video 1:48 Mark Zuckerberg breaks silence on Cambridge Analytica scandal – video

However some may say it’s too little too late after the co-founder of WhatsApp joined the call on Tuesday for people to delete their Facebook accounts. But is this the beginning of the end for Facebook? Hundreds of people responded to a Guardian callout with many saying they are unhappy but not entirely surprised to hear about the breach, and are conflicted about deleting their Facebook accounts.

‘You might delete your account but they will still have the data’: Alex, 38, railroader, New York



I was one of the first Facebook account holders with a six digit user ID number when it was limited to just MIT and Harvard students. I was never comfortable with using my real name so the name had been slightly incorrect and birth date a complete fabrication when I signed up. I did this to prevent Facebook from matching my personal info to other publicly available information like property records. They can still find me if they want, but it will take targeted detective work. Perhaps because I work with corporate data, I have always been very careful about what data I choose to share.



The privacy issues are very complex and user education is the only real way to deal with the problem. I find less need to read my feed but it’s still great professionally because I can see news from other employees and I still post my baby pictures for relatives around the world to see. I don’t think deleting the account would help. You might delete it but they still have the data, they just make sure you cannot access it. So, better to keep your access and just stop using it. Or be more aware of what you post or what you ‘Like’.

How to protect your Facebook privacy – or delete yourself completely Read more

‘I would love to delete my Facebook account but it’s the anchor for two of my business pages’: Michelle, 58, Toronto

At the end of the day, I’m actually responsible for my own privacy, not Facebook. However, I never signed on to have my information data-mined and traded willy-nilly for financial and political gain. I would love to delete my Facebook accountbut it’s the anchor for two of my business pages. I’m also a 24/7 animal rescuer and Facebook has proven to be an excellent platform for marketing animals in need of new homes or in need of advocacy. If I deleted my account, I would be losing the opportunity to message my communities about animals. If there was a replacement platform that had ethics I’d sign up in a nano second.

‘The fact is we’re the product. That’s the deal’: Gary Rae, 57, senior communications and campaigns specialist, Yorkshire

We all thought we were getting something for nothing when we signed up to Facebook (I ‘deleted’ my account a few years ago, only to discover it had only been deactivated and they were still holding all my data). The fact is, we’re the product. That’s the deal. The problem is, Facebook and others, were not transparent about that. For some, that might not be an issue when, on the face of it, Facebook is all about cat and baby pics. It isn’t. It’s now about selling politics, and they’re harvesting your mind.

‘Facebook repeatedly suggested I befriend my dead dad’: Emma Clayton, 38, graphic designer, Brighton

I have been unhappy with Facebook’s lack of privacy and haven’t trusted them for a long time. Yes, I have wanted to delete my account for a couple of years but feel I can’t because there are people connected to me on there that I would be unlikely to ever hear from again if I did . I hate how Facebook appropriates my content (it recently used a photo of my dead nanny and offered it to me for purchase as a photo jigsaw).



I also had a lot of trouble recently when Facebook repeatedly suggested I befriend my dead dad. I had already been obliged to provide them with a copy of his death certificate to get the profile deleted, but as he had dementia he created multiple profiles which now hound me. They refused to engage with me at all when I said I had already shown them the death certificate once and that should be enough for them to get rid of the other profiles. I would happily move to another network if this was possible, and I know there are others out there, but this is the one that most people I know use. I feel trapped.



Play Video 3:41 What is the Cambridge Analytica scandal? - video explainer

‘Some of the information Facebook had could potentially end careers’: Adam Norlin Persson, 25, bank copywriter, Sweden

The most disturbing thing that I found out when I received the information I requested from Facebook was that all the photos, videos and sound files I’ve ever received or sent to people were saved in a folder. Some of the material was sent from people when they were 16- to 20-years-old and could, in the wrong hands, potentially end their careers. This is powerful information; how can we trust Facebook so this information will not be sold or stolen for bad people, companies or even states that wish to censor us? I have thought about deleting my account but I won’t because I’m a frequent user of the Messenger. However, I will be more careful about what I write and send now.



‘Cambridge Analytica were given an inch and took 100 miles’: Damien, content marketer for a major online retailer

I think it represents the inevitable result of the blurring between advertising and journalism that’s been ongoing for at least a decade. Content marketing is now among the fastest growing marketing channels, which I find concerning as users can no longer be sure whether what they’re reading is an advert or objective advice. This issue isn’t whether Cambridge Analytica had user ‘permissions’. They were given an inch and took 100 miles - what they did was unethical and immoral, even if it’s legally defensible. A new suite of regulation needs to be created for the data industry.



‘I’ve invested too much time in it to delete the account’: Sue, 53, Scotland

Any Facebook user who didn’t think their data was potentially being used must be quite foolish. For the site to run free of charge for users, there has to be some monetisation somewhere along the chain. I will not be deleting my Facebook account because it is too convenient for contacting friends and my wider working circle. I have invested too much time in it to delete the account, plus I run several groups which directly benefit my business, along with my page which is used to generate work. It would be about as counter productive as cancelling my blog or taking down my website!

‘Facebook’s goal has just been a blatant lie’: A, 22, London

Privacy is absolutely an essential value in a democracy. The Cambridge Analytica files show how mass-scale harvesting of personal data can equip non-democratic entities with unrestricted power to meddle in our democratic elections. After eight years I have just deleted my Facebook account. The primary reason for that is the collect it all mentality for purposes which are wholly non-transparent to me as an end user nor to Facebook executives themselves. Facebook’s goal of making the world “more open and connected” has just been a blatant lie. Facebook has purposefully made the world more divided with filter bubbles and micro-targeting in order to maximize profit.

