#DeleteFacebook is all fury and no action, reveal usage stats

It is hard to let Facebook go. Or so reveals data. 

People are threatening but aren’t actually deleting Facebook.

It is true that social media has been inundated with #DeleteFacebook posts in the aftermath of the Cambridge Analytica scandal — which has already wiped off over a $100 billion from Facebook’s market cap — but analytics reveal that people’s words haven’t really translated into action.

Singapore-based digital marketing firm Kepios compiled Facebook’s monthly active users for the last three months and discovered that it has grown in key markets that include the US, the UK, India, Indonesia, Vietnam, Thailand and more.

While #DeleteFacebook witnessed maximum posts from American users, who were most affected by the Cambridge Analytica data breach, usage grew by 4.3 percent in the last 90 days. The UK recorded a growth of 4.5 percent in the same period.

In India, Facebook’s biggest market with over 241 million users, usage increased a massive 12 percent, despite Indians taking to Twitter by the hordes to further the #DeleteFacebook movement.

In the last four days alone, #DeleteFacebook has generated over seven million impressions on Twitter, according to hashtag tracking tool Keyhole.

When it comes to downloads, Facebook did witness a drop on both iOS and Android platforms, but App Annie reveals that downloads levels are now back to pre-Cambridge Analytica days’. The Facebook app is back to the top five on the US App Store. 

Next steps

After facing harsh criticism from lawmakers, governments, security analysts, press, and the general public, Facebook rolled out a few changes in its security settings last week.

Facebook has redesigned the settings menu on mobile phones and brought all privacy options under one screen, thus enabling ease of use. It also allows users to delete formerly shared information like political interests, etc.

Facebook Chief Privacy Officer Erin Egan and Deputy General Counsel Ashlie Beringer wrote in a joint statement,

“Last week showed how much more work we need to do to enforce our policies and help people understand how Facebook works and the choices they have over their data. Most of the security page updates have been in the works for some time, but the events of the past several days underscore their importance.”

Meanwhile, Mark Zuckerberg has acknowledged the crisis and agreed to testify before the US Congress. The hearing on data privacy will also include Google CEO Sundar Pichai and Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey alongside Zuckerberg. It is slated to take place on April 10 at the US Senate.