Facebook says that it extended the grace period because it had noticed some users actually try to log back in to their accounts after the previous 14 days grace period. Increasing the time, it says, helps them to make a more informed choice. For the ones that do have a change of heart, do note that your account won’t automatically be restored when you attempt to log back in after choosing to delete the account. Instead, logging back in will reportedly give you the “option to cancel your request”. While it isn’t directly implied, Facebook decision to extend the grace period for account deletion could have stemmed from the series of unfortunate events the social media platform has been going through. Earlier this year, the company was mired in the Cambridge Analytica scandal.
Just last week, hackers digitally broke into its servers and stole more than 50 million Facebook login IDs. To add insult to injury, those same login IDs were then being sold on the Dark Web at rock bottom prices. (Source: The Verge)