【Dear Utol (2025): Chick! Episode 47】

Ladies and Dear Utol (2025): Chick! Episode 47gentlemen, boys and girls, don your fanciest of caps and bust out your most invasive of apps, because it's that time of year again. That's right, today, Jan. 28, is Data Privacy Day, and your friends at Facebook want to make sure you're invited to the party.

The social media and advertising giant, which has for years been steadily drowning the planet in a tide of surveillance and scandal, wants you to know that it cares about your privacy. So much so, in fact, that the company perhaps most notable for being creepy has taken today's celebration of data privacy as an opportunity to encourage its users to do a so-called "Privacy Checkup."

SEE ALSO: Mark Zuckerberg pats himself on the back for a great 2018

And what does that mean, exactly? If you guessed "continue to share the exact same amount of personal data with Facebook," then ding ding ding, you're a winner. Because in Facebook's mind, this is merely an opportunity to fine tune what information of yours other people on the platform can access.

"Take a few minutes to review how you're currently sharing your information with people on Facebook," reads the checkup tool, "and with the apps and websites from other companies that you've used Facebook to log into."

Mashable Light Speed Want more out-of-this world tech, space and science stories? Sign up for Mashable's weekly Light Speed newsletter. By clicking Sign Me Up, you confirm you are 16+ and agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Thanks for signing up!

Original image has been replaced. Credit: Mashable

Never in the Privacy Checkup does Facebook acknowledge the possibility that you might want to keep your personal data from it. But that would require a modicum of self awareness, so I guess we're not really surprised.

And neither was Twitter, which responded to Facebook's announcement with, shall we say, some incredulity.

This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.

This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.

This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.

This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.

And so, as Facebook celebrates Data Privacy Day with what amounts to a meaningless rehash of a years-old tool, allow us to propose another way to mark this annual descent into sadness: Namely, delete your Facebook account.

It's easy. While logged into Facebook, simply hit this link, click "Delete Account," and follow the next few steps.

And with that, you've got yourself a true Data Privacy Day celebration to remember.

---

Featured Video For You

---

Washington, D.C., attorney general is suing Facebook over Cambridge Analytica scandal

---

Topics Facebook Social Media

• Games
• Science
• Life
• Digital Culture
• Social Good
• Shopping
• Entertainment
• Tech

• Sony launches new flagship XM6 headphones: Order them now
• The ACLU comes to John Oliver's defense in a lawsuit...and it's super funny
• Google's Earth's breathtaking redesign is finally on iOS
• Amazon Jobs Day is bleak as hell
• Put Me In, Coach!
• Hackers say they stole 1.5 terabytes from HBO. Here's what that means.
• Before Kim Kardashian, there was Angelyne. Now her identity has been revealed.
• Tokyo train station at rush hour is just endless humans, and it's terrifying
• Ryzen 5 1600X vs. 1600: Which should you buy?
• August is a great month for skywatching: How to make the most of it

• Quarantine Reads: The Anatomy of Melancholy by Dustin Illingworth
• Quarantine Reads: The Book of Disquiet by Eddie Grace
• Save up to 55% on a Babbel subscription
• What is a TikTok 'fear food' challenge?
• Best Xbox console deals — New price drops
• 'The Holdovers' review: Paul Giamatti and Alexander Payne reunite for curmudgeon comedy
• Betraying My Hometown by Yan Lianke
• Nobody’s Fault by Emerson Whitney
• Cooking with Varlam Shalamov by Valerie Stivers
• The Paris Review’s Poetry Crossword by Adrienne Raphel

• New MIT report reveals energy costs of AI tools like ChatGPT
• Here's why you should think twice before buying the Tesla Model 3
• Google Chrome's native ad blocker debuts in experimental browser
• Clothing brands are making dedicated AirPod pockets now, if that makes sense to you
• Keeping Hope Alive
• What does Bran Stark know about Sansa that we don't?
• Trump completely changed the way 'Saturday Night Live' is made
• The 14 best Daenerys Targaryen quotes to burn the fuccbois from your life
• Contingent No More
• Inspiring breastfeeding photoshoot turns the tables on rude comments

• Astronomers saw one galaxy impale another. The damage was an eye
• Reminisce about floppy disks and CRT monitors with these retro tech Lego models
• 'Magic: The Gathering' session ends in stabbing
• All about the multiverse in Stephen King's 'The Dark Tower'
• A worthless juicer and a Gipper-branded server
• Oh hell no: Donald Trump was almost in 'Sharknado 3'
• 'The Dark Tower' commits the unforgivable sin of being boring
• This is, probably, the Galaxy Note 8
• Ireland fines TikTok $600 million for sharing user data with China
• Here's why Sansa will definitely kill Littlefinger