I think if normal people would really know that Facebook keeps their data even after they deleted it, they would get pretty freaked out about it, too.
So long as Facebook offers two options and makes it really clear - [this is our normal 'hide your profile'][This will really delete everything. No, really, are you sure?]
However, I would suggest penalising people genuinely concerned about their privacy and completely leaving out the option of permanent deletion, only because some people aren't responsible enough to to be trusted with that decision, is not really acceptable.
It's just one of those issues you have to think about before building something - trying to avoid storing sensitive material wherever possible. This goes against modern trends where the retention of as much data as possible is favoured.
I think the problem we see here, is a lot of start-ups and individuals are starting to think about it too far down the line. Whereas big, established companies have been dealing with this for decades, with departments dedicated to compliance - a bit like how everyone is building websites for accessibility to comply with disability laws.
> And. No. I can't have backups of that data because having
> a backup would be the same as not really deleting it.
> Think of retroactively altering the backups of the days
> where the data still existed shudder.
Those that are concerned that the data they deleted isn't really deleted?
Or those that learn that they can't get their data back which they just now accidentally deleted?
I'm a techie. I'm part of the first group. But daily I have to deal with the second group. Telling them that, no, you deleted the data, so now it's gone, would break their heart.
And. No. I can't have backups of that data because having a backup would be the same as not really deleting it. Think of retroactively altering the backups of the days where the data still existed shudder.
This is pure theory anyways as there is a huge difficulty in reliably deleting data once it's replicated all over different machines.
By the way: I wonder how this request for immediate deletion flies with the more and more strict data retention laws that the EU is issuing. You know: Either you store the data for the state (and thus don't delete it), or you delete it, at which point it's gone.