Facebook banned me for life because I created the tool Unfollow Everything

Tools that help people disengage on social platforms can be helpful. I guess they can also get you banned.

If someone built a tool that made Facebook less addictive—a tool that allowed users to benefit from Facebook’s positive features while limiting their exposure to its negative ones—how would Facebook respond?

I know the answer, because I built the tool, and Facebook squashed it. This summer, Facebook sent me a cease-and-desist letter threatening legal action. It permanently disabled my Facebook and Instagram accounts. And it demanded that I agree to never again create tools that interact with Facebook or its other services.

This is all entirely predictable. So if you are on Facebook and you decide to use a nice tool to help you get a bit less addicted, Facebook is going to take legal action against the tool provider. I guess we should leave the life preservers at home. ⛑