Musk quits Facebook. What about you?

Hilda did you have a problem deleting it. The article I’m reading says it takes 90 days for your data to be wiped and if you log into your account after requesting to delete it then the request is automatically cancelled.
Did it give you that information?

I ve set up a charity group 500+ members also a school friend group with 70 members (none on my friend list I add ) I ve bought and sold items Found cousins and other family member seen my family photos they would never get printed and send, I follow the local news as it breaks i belong to history groups for my town the photos and memories are fantastic In fact I found a picture recently of my little prefab I lived in when I was four I ve found friends I d lost touch with and memories I d forgotten I ve been on 9 years and never had any problems as long as you use it sensibly I think it’s safer than here My thoughts and posts don’t go into the daily mail
Who is Musk? I m ignorant I m afraid

I'm on Whatsapp and it was indeed recently bought over by FB.
I'm a member of various groups. We have a family group where we share videos and photos. It makes it so much easier to arrange family things. It is free to send messages and texts, which is an added bonus,.
I was spending a fortune sending photos to BIL and SIL, so I suggested that they too join and it would save money.
I also have friends' groups, which makes it so much easier to arrange lunches etc.
Facebook, I have no time for.

Facebook is a very useful tool. I have the highest security settings, a group of Facebook family and friends that actually are my family and friends, and I use the option to ignore posts from any friend who starts posting inspirational tripe, click bait photos of cute puppies, etc. I don't feel the need to worry about liking my DC's holiday photos. I have recently joined a local group which has proved handy for recommendations, etc, but can also be very annoying and may well be history soon. I rarely use Messenger, but am part of a couple of WhatsApp groups - one for the family, one for my reading group. I suppose time will tell whether I ever regret using any of them.

I deleted my Facebook account towards the end of last year. I had lots of lovely friends, most were family and ex work colleagues. I deleted my account because someone sent loads of videos, supposedly from me, to several of them, so I assumed my account had been hacked. I waited until my account was properly gone from FB and then I reinstalled messenger. You can have the messenger app without having Facebook. I can still keep in touch with the people I love.

Maggymay I have messenger on my iPad.
Just read that Facebook owns what’s app. And shares its data as default unless you change your phones settings.
The Times advice is never to like anything on FB.

That's not compulsory Gillybob!
I've found it very useful to connect with long lost family members from round the world, ex school mates and others.
I don't post my every waking thought and am very careful with privacy settings and photographs. It's entirely up to individuals how they use it.
A closed Facebook group was set up to organise a recent GN lunch.
People who slate it should maybe give it a chance.

I have never been part of FB . Never trusted it . Never felt the urge to photograph my dinner and send it out to be liked !

I use FB a lot, have found family I didn't know I had on it as well as getting in touch with family and friends I hadn't seen for years.
I belong to groups for where I grew up, family history, crafts etc.
As long as you are sensible and don't do the silly quizzes/what would you be/share type things it's fine.

I love fb and will echo all the things Bathsheba and Stella have said
I use WhatsApp in a very limited way as one grandchild isn’t on fb so messages me but I don’t like it and it’s very different theres no interesting groups or news or information or selling pages etc as on FB it’s just simply messages that disappear very quickly if my granddaughter sends me a lovely photo of her I have to remember to save it or it will disappear for ever
I thought well I was pretty sure Messenger was part of FB and not a stand alone service if you can have it alone surely it will still belong to FB with all the usual concerns

I won't be leaving Facebook either. It's so useful to me as I belong to several personal interest groups, where we can all swap our expertise or ask for help etc. I also find the selling pages invaluable - no charges, unlike eBay. Though of course, there's no protection either so you have to be careful.
My security is about as tight as it is possible to be and I never join in with the silly games, or promotional pages that ask you to "like and share".

And I have it on my phone too.

No intention of quitting FB. I have lovely FB friends and catch up on their lives and their families. FB is what you make it.

I have messenger on my IPad attached to my FB account.

Pamela Messenger is a stand alone App,but you can only have it on a phone not an Ipad.

I think that messenger is Facebook Maggie. I don’t think you can have M without Facebook but I definitely could be wrong.

I don’t have Facebook ,but I do have Messenger on my phone
I keep in touch constantly sending messages and photos to family.Video calls are especially handy when phoning my son as he doesn’t have a landline.

I use WhatsApp as all my children are on it.

On the same sort of subject, a new thread has just started asking us to sign a petition run by the DM to keep passport production in the UK.
Another ruse to harvest our opinions so they can be re used or simply a patriotic thing to do.
I think I’m getting paranoid.?

I love Facebook. I've found old friends from school which has been wonderful. I also keep in touch with all our far-flung family members who are all over the world. Even with my own children, we share photographs and short comments which keep us in touch constantly. I have no problems with it at all. If data has been used to influence people, I'm quite sure that this hasn't happened to me. I'm not so vulnerable that my opinion or voting habits can be influenced by a Facebook post. There are no alternatives to Facebook and I'm not going to be browbeaten into quitting .

Isn't WhatsApp owned by Facebook? My kids use Instagram a lot, but I haven't got into that yet, I can just about keep up with FB

He also sent stuff into space - I'm not planning on doing that any time soon either:-)

I find FB incredibly useful. I set my privacy to the highest setting , have only a handful of family and friends that use it and don't do silly quizzes etc.

I am as protected as I can be .

That said - its a useful tool , we have moved to a new area and I have found all our trade people through recommendations on local pages.

I don't think WhatsApp will prove any more secure or reliable - they will do what's best for their business model and it will only be discovered down the line .

I shan't stop using it - but I'm careful HOW I use it.

I have never joined. It is quite possible to lead life without it with minimal inconvenience.