I will be the first to admit that this wasn’t an easy or quick decision. I ultimately quit Facebook because I have lost any faith that my privacy was being protected.  Seeing my facebook profile picture on CNN.com after Facebook announced like buttons was the proverbial straw on the camel’s back.

 I know there are a few people out there that will probably criticize my reasons for leaving.  That there is no expectation of privacy that the whole point of Facebook is to facilitate sharing.  And they would be right up to a point.  There is no expectation of privacy when I am sharing amongst my network of friends. That’s why they are called “friends”.  There is a level of trust that I can share certain information with that group of people.

I simply do not trust Facebook. I have a hard time trusting someone who hands me stuff for free. Nothing in life is free and someone ultimately has to pay for it. I am usually wary of an organization that I have a hard time understanding how they collect revenue.  If it is advertisers that are paying Facebook’s bills, then what is Facebook giving up for said revenue?

I finally made up my mind on leaving after watching Mark Zuckerberg’s interview at D8.  I don’t know him personally and for all I know he could be a really nice guy.  The truth of the matter is I don’t have to use Facebook and it is scary how people are implementing these like buttons without possibly thinking things through in regards to privacy.

At the end of the day, I am taking my online privacy back in the best way I know how: by stop using services that do not have a clear and concise privacy policy.