You Cannot Delete Files in the Cloud

“As we move more of our data onto cloud computing platforms such
as Gmail and Facebook, and closed proprietary platforms such as the
Kindle and the iPhone, deleting data is much harder.

“You have to trust that these companies will delete your data
when you ask them to, but they’re generally not interested in doing
so. Sites like these are more likely to make your data inaccessible
than they are to physically delete it. Facebook is a known culprit:
actually deleting your data from its servers requires a complicated
procedure that may or may not work. And even if you do manage to
delete your data, copies are certain to remain in the companies’
backup systems. Gmail explicitly says this in its privacy
notice.

“Online backups, SMS messages, photos on photo sharing sites,
smartphone applications that store your data in the network: you
have no idea what really happens when you delete pieces of data or
your entire account, because you’re not in control of the computers
that are storing the data.”

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