Also "deletion" and "processing" are very vaguely defined terms. Data can be made inaccessible while complying with deletion, but more importantly data can be abstracted in a manner that it is accessible but still compliant with the right to be forgotten.
I've worked on a few solutions for deep analytics this past year specifically designed to keep the data while being 100% compliant with the silly GDPR regulations including the right for erasure.
This is deleting data that you have contributed yourself.
Any data you have submitted, you have to be able to revoke, and get removed.
The new EU privacy regulation is the GDPR and it has a data deletion clause but it's not absolute.
There is no EU law that mandates hard deletion of data.
Member states can have stricter laws but the two I am familiar with which are the DPA (U.K.) and BDSG (Germany) also do not mandate it.
There is also no definition of data you've submitted or data that has been collected only consent to store and or process data.
This is not something new and surprising, this has been long discussed.
https://uk.practicallaw.thomsonreuters.com/3-502-4080?transi...
Facebook/WhatsApp is a gold mine for the NSA and the CIA (as well as others). I would be surprised if they ever deleted any data when you "update" a field. It seems far more likely that they keep 100% of all data ever entered and just display the latest entry of your "update history".