Even after graduation, the millions of students using Facebook.com won't find it easy to leave the Web site.
Unlike other social networking sites like MySpace.com, Facebook, which has 66 million users worldwide, only allows members to delete their personal profiles by e-mailing the company.
Instead of offering deletion at the click of a mouse, users can only "deactivate" their profiles, in accordance with Facebook's terms of use. This means the information is stored so the user can access it in the future by logging onto the site.
According to Facebook's terms of use, "If you choose to remove your User Content … the Company may retain archived copies of your User Content."
In order to permanently delete an account, rather than just deactivate it, users must contact a Facebook representative through e-mail, according to the Web site.
According to media reports, the Web site introduced the delete option last month after national media outlets roused attention. The help menu urges those struggling with profile deletion to e-mail Facebook personnel directly with their concerns.
Still, as of Monday night, the Facebook group, "how to permanently delete your Facebook account," had just fewer than 13,000 members who were still voicing concerns on the message board, along with stories of their struggles with profile deletion.
Facebook representatives did not return requests for comment about their complicated deletion policy by deadline.
But the relative permanence of Facebook profiles came as a shock to several ASU students.
"That's kind of scary for future employers and stuff," said Marissa Pensabene, a justice studies senior. "I planned on deleting it before I go into the real world."
Pensabene added that she thought the lack of total control over her personal information was "creepy," even though she is careful to keep her phone number and address inaccessible to site visitors.
Other students also said they are careful about what information is listed on their profiles.
"I try not to put anything too personal on the Internet," said art history freshman Shannon Thornton.
She added that she keeps her online presence "as limited as possible."
The site acknowledges the rights of a user to delete their profiles and uploaded materials at any time, but states in their terms of use that "removed information may persist in backup copies for a reasonable period of time but will not be generally available to members of Facebook."
However, the terms acknowledge that personal messages sent to other Facebook users may be permanent.
According to a professor in ASU's Computer Science and Engineering Department, nothing on the Internet can really be private.
"You can never be assured something will be deleted," said Partha Dasgupta.
To keep online material safe in case of a large outage, companies like Facebook back up all of their material routinely. Some Web sites back up as frequently as everyday. Dasgupta said this means that, even if a person deletes something from his or her profile, the information still exists somewhere on the old version in the form of a backup.
"Its action serves a purpose," Dasgupta said. "Nothing is lost. … [But] there is no way of saying 'I want something deleted.' "
Since Internet companies hold onto large amounts of users' personal information, he said there is only one remedy for students on Facebook.
"The way to deal with this is personal responsibility," Dasgupta said. "Don't put anything out there you don't want to be public, even if you make it private or friends only."
The State Press's Dan O'Connor contributed to this article.
Reach the reporter at: claudia.koerner@asu.edu.
