Facebook bans 'social suicide' app Social Roulette

Shawn Knight

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Staff member

Facebook has blocked an app that offered users a one in six chance of deleting their entire account. Known as Social Roulette, the app was designed to mimic Russian Roulette where a single bullet is loaded into the cylinder of a revolver and well, you know the rest.

A description on the website for Social Routlette said the app may appeal to someone looking to start fresh or perhaps someone looking for a cheap thrill at the expense of their social network. The developer noted that everyone thinks about deleting their account at some point and that it is a completely normal reaction to the overwhelming nature of digital culture.

The app’s developer said it was flagged by an automated system from Facebook that deals with negative user experiences. The social network, on the other hand, said the app violated its platform policies.

What policies it violated, however, are a bit sketchy but as some suggest, Facebook sometimes enforces the spirit of the law rather than how it’s written word for word. Eden Zoller from research firm Ovum, however, noted that existing platform policy includes the ability to ban apps that pose a competitive risk to Facebook. Naturally, Facebook wouldn’t want people to delete their profile but if they did, they’d prefer people do it on their own accord.

The app points out that deleting a Facebook account entirely is very difficult but it could successfully remove all posts, apps, friends, photos, likes and games before deactivating the account.

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Silly is right... sounds like some bored devs got drunk one night and didn't have anyone sober around to tell them how dumb this idea was.

Regardless, I'll bet FB put a stop to it mostly because they didn't want to deal with the customer support issue of people wanting their profiles restored after they found the hard way that this app really worked.
 
That's funny. Nothing wrong with the app in my opinion, but it would be as stupid to play as it is to play the Russian version.
 
That's funny. Nothing wrong with the app in my opinion, but it would be as stupid to play as it is to play the Russian version.

Really? You think that it is just as stupid to play "Facebook Russian Roulette" than would be in real life?

THAT is interesting... Deleted your Facebook account is equal to deleting your life... amazing how sucked in people get into the digital world... and I thought I was THE computer geek who sat around all day playing Minecraft. geez...
 
Developing an Anti-Facebook Application, sounds like something I would develop if I had the skill.

Maybe Zuckerburg should rethink this and make this the only way to delete your account. We already know Zuckerburg doesn't want you leaving Facebook. Making deletion a 1 in 6 chance of success seems to me would be right up his alley.
 
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