Facebook has extended the waiting time for users who want to delete their account. Previously users had to wait 14 days before their account on the social network was removed. Facebook has now extended this deadline to 30 days.
The waiting time has been introduced for users who change their mind. When users delete their Facebook account it's first deactivated and only after the waiting time has passed, the account and all its associated data is removed. When the waiting time hasn't passed yet, and the account is only deactivated, users can simply login and stop the delete request. The account then becomes active again and the user can continue as before.
A Facebook spokesperson confirmed the waiting time extension to The Verge. According to the spokesperson there were users who still tried to login after the 14-day deadline. Extension of the grace period should give people more time to make a well-informed decision, according to the spokesperson.
It also means however, that users who want to delete all their data from the social network have to wait more than twice as long. Users who are concerned about the data that is stored on Facebook after the data hacks and scandals are still not safe after the 30 days. Facebook status the actual deletion process of all data can take up to 90 days.
