Technologies

Say buh-bye to Facebook and delete you account for good

If you want to completely cut ties with the social network, deactivating your Facebook account isn’t enough.

People’s opinions about Facebook are a mixed bag. For some, the social media site is an essential tool for keeping in touch with friends and family around the globe, interacting with common-interest groups and getting news. But others see Facebook in terms of privacy violations, political brawling, damaging misinformation and other content that could be harmful to teens. Now known as Meta, Facebook, as a company, has a new name but the same old problems. Whether you want to cancel your account for a clean slate in 2022 or any other reason, we’ll tell you below what steps to follow.

It’s important to note that there’s a difference between deleting your Facebook account and deactivating it. Deactivating your Facebook account temporarily freezes it, which is useful if you want a brief hiatus. But that does nothing to prevent the company from tracking your online activity.

To fully separate from Facebook, deleting your account is the only answer. Deleting it also severs ties to Facebook Messenger, the platform’s chat app. (If you want to also get rid of Instagram and WhatsApp, which are Facebook properties, you’ll have to do that separately.) We’ll explain some things you’ll need to consider before going through the process, which requires time and patience.

1. Delete the Facebook app from your phone and tablet

The first step is to delete the app from your smartphone or tablet. Remember that deleting the Facebook app doesn’t delete your account — you can still access it from the browser and other apps might still use Facebook as a login.

Removing the icon from your phone gets it out of sight and mind, but it doesn’t do anything to your overall account. You’ll need to make sure to do all these other steps or Facebook can still track your online activity.

2. Choose a messaging or social media alternative

Remember, when you delete your Facebook account, your Messenger access goes with it. Meaning, you’ll need to reach out to those you frequently talk to on Messenger and figure out another app or messaging service to use to stay in touch.

Take the same approach with your Facebook friends in general. Post a status a few days before you plan on deleting your account, and ask that anyone who wants to keep in touch send a message with their contact info.

Facebook also gives you the option to transfer your photos, videos, notes and posts to other sites like Google Photos and Dropbox. Here’s how to transfer Facebook data.

3. Disconnect your Facebook account from other apps and logins

Third-party developers such as Spotify and DoorDash have long offered the option of using your Facebook account as a way to sign up and log in to their services. It’s convenient because it keeps you from having to remember yet another password. That is, until you don’t have a Facebook account anymore.

You’ll need to address those outside accounts that rely on your Facebook info by logging in to each account and disconnecting it from your Facebook account.

To find a list of apps linked to your Facebook account:

Sign in to Facebook.
Go to Settings > Apps and websites.
If you’re having trouble figuring out how to unlink your Facebook account from a service, contact the company’s customer service department for help.

Once that’s done, request and download a copy of all your Facebook data by following these steps:

Log in to Facebook on your computer.
Go to Settings > Your Facebook Information.
Click View next to Download Your Information.
Leave all of the boxes checked under the Your Information section.
Leave the date range to All of my data.
Leave the format set to HTML — doing so puts your data in an easy-to-navigate format.
In order to save high-resolution copies of photos and videos you’ve posted to Facebook, change the Media Quality drop-down from Medium to High.

Finally, click Create File. Facebook will then gather all of your information and send you an email when it’s ready to be downloaded. It can take some time for this to happen — it’s not an instant process.

4. Finally, it’s time to delete your Facebook account

The final step is to delete your account. To do so, visit this page and sign in.

Facebook will give you a list of tasks and things to consider before deleting your account. For example, you’ll be advised to download all of your information, or if you’re the sole admin of a Facebook Page, you’ll be asked to grant another account admin privileges. Otherwise, the page will be deleted alongside your account.

All right, you ready? Click Delete Account, enter your password and click Continue. Finally, click Delete Account again and you’re done.

5. You have 30 days to change your mind about Facebook

Facebook will take up to 90 days to delete all of your account data from its servers. For the first 30 days of that period, you can still sign in and cancel your deletion request. Your account will be restored and it’ll be like you never left. For better or worse.

To cancel your deletion request, visit Facebook.com, log in to your account, and click the Cancel Deletion button.

And if you need any help with the emotional side of the breakup, here are some tips on how to ease the pain of Facebook separation. You can also check out CNET’s list of best password managers and VPN services of the year.

Technologies

Meta Is Shutting Down Its Mac and Windows Messenger Apps. What You Need to Know

Here’s what you need to do before the apps disappear at the end of the year.

If you use the desktop Messenger apps for Windows and Mac, you need to know that they’re disappearing soon. Meta is discontinuing the apps starting Dec. 15, when you’ll need to head to Facebook to continue chatting through the app on your computer.

Once the sundowning process begins, you’ll receive an in-app notification. You’ll have a 60-day window to continue using Messenger before the app is permanently shut down. (But don’t worry — the mobile app for Messenger will remain.)

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If you want to save your chat history, Meta suggests activating secure storage before the app is gone forever. Otherwise, your chat history will be gone forever, as well.

The Messenger desktop app is no longer available on the Apple App Store. After Dec. 15, Meta users who try to access Messenger on desktop will be redirected to Facebook.com. Users without a Facebook account will be redirected to Messenger.com.

Technologies

This New Humanoid Home Robot Costs $20K, and You Still Have to Train It

The Neo robot from 1X is designed to do household chores, but it’s got a lot of learning still to do.

It stands 5 feet, 6 inches tall, weighs about as much as a golden retriever and costs near the price of a brand-new budget car.

This is Neo, the humanoid robot. It’s billed as a personal assistant you can talk to and eventually rely on to take care of everyday tasks, such as loading the dishwasher and folding laundry.

Neo doesn’t work cheap. It’ll cost you $20,000. And even then, you’ll still have to train this new home bot.

If that sounds enticing, preorders are now open (for a mere $200 down). You’ll be signing up as an early adopter for what Neo’s maker, a California-based company called 1X, is calling a «consumer-ready humanoid.» That’s opposed to other humanoids under development from the likes of Tesla and Figure, which are, for the moment at least, more focused on factory environments.

Neo is a whole order of magnitude different from robot vacuums like those from Roomba, Eufy and Ecovacs, and embodies a long-running sci-fi fantasy of robot maids and butlers doing chores and picking up after us. If this is the future, read on for more of what’s in store.

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What the Neo robot can do around the house

The pitch from 1X is that Neo can do all manner of household chores: fold laundry, run a vacuum, tidy shelves, bring in the groceries. It can open doors, climb stairs and even act as a home entertainment system.

Neo appears to move smoothly, with a soft, almost human-like gait, thanks to 1X’s tendon-driven motor system that gives it gentle motion and impressive strength. The company says it can lift up to 154 pounds and carry 55 pounds, but it is quieter than a refrigerator. It’s covered in soft materials and neutral colors, making it look less intimidating than metallic prototypes from other companies.

The company says Neo has a 4-hour runtime. Its hands are IP68-rated, meaning they’re submersible in water. It can connect via Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and 5G. For conversation, it has a built-in LLM, the same sort of AI technology that powers ChatGPT and Gemini.

The primary way to control the Neo robot will be by speaking to it, just as if it were a person in your home.

Still, Neo’s usefulness today depends heavily on how you define useful. The Wall Street Journal’s Joanna Stern got an up-close look at Neo at 1X’s headquarters and found that, at least for now, it’s largely teleoperated, meaning a human often operates it remotely using a virtual-reality headset and controllers.

«I didn’t see Neo do anything autonomously, although the company did share a video of Neo opening a door on its own,» Stern wrote.

1X CEO Bernt Børnich told her that Neo will do most things autonomously in 2026, though he also acknowledged that the quality «may lag at first.»

What you need to know about Neo and privacy

Part of what early adopters are signing up for is to let Neo learn from their environment so that future versions can operate more independently.

That learning process raises privacy and trust questions. The robot uses a mix of visual, audio and contextual intelligence — meaning it can see, hear and remember interactions with users throughout their homes.

«If you buy this product, it is because you’re OK with that social contract,» Børnich told the Journal. «It’s less about Neo instantly doing your chores and more about you helping Neo learn to do them safely and effectively.»

1X says it’s taking steps to protect your privacy: Neo listens only when it recognizes it’s being addressed, and its cameras will blur out humans. You can restrict Neo from entering or viewing specific areas of your home, and the robot will never be teleoperated without owner approval, the company says.

But inviting an AI-equipped humanoid to observe your home life isn’t a small step.

The first units will ship to customers in the US in 2026. There is a $499 monthly subscription alternative to the $20,000 full-purchase price, though that will be available at an unspecified later date. A broader international rollout is promised for 2027.

Neo’s got a long road ahead of it to live up to the expectations set by Rosie the Robot in The Jetsons way back when. But this is no Hanna-Barbera cartoon. What we’re seeing now is a much more tangible harbinger of change.