Marius Schober

Embracing the Mysteries, Unveiling the Realities

A polymathic exploration of innovation, philosophy, and the mystical.

  • How To Delete All Your Facebook Activity

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    6 min read

    Facebook: A Stalking Time-Machine

    Only a few days ago, a friend of mine sent me an old photo which showed us partying (really hard) at the age of ±17 years. Where did he get it from? Correct, Facebook reminded him of it. I personally don’t really have a problem to share these kinds of photos with people – as long I know them quite good. However, I don’t like the fact that my entire past is recorded on a Facebook timeline, for anyone to access, review, download, and stalk. Let’s not even talk about the big data Facebook is gathering and the personal profile Facebook is constructing out of my activity.

    Deleting Your Activity? Not That Easy

    Today I sat down and thought: “Well, let me simply delete all of my past Facebook posts, likes, photos, and videos.” However, as it turned out this was easier said than done. It seems that Facebook doesn’t want you to delete all your past activities on the platform. In fact, it is impossible to delete all your activity with a single click. This “Delete Everything Button” does not exist. So, Facebook wants you to click manually on every single activity of you to review and then delete it. Considering that most of us are active users on Facebook for several years, this process apparently will take days. However, there is a fast-track to delete your Facebook history.

    Using A Script to Eradicate Vacate Your Timeline

    Nobody wants to sit hours and days in front of a PC clicking the same buttons all over again. Fortunately, there is a way how you can automate this process. This works by using a manual script in your browser. I just found a straightforward Chrome extension which will run a script on your Facebook activity log. The script will run for several hours depending on how active you were on Facebook in the past. Several hours are still faster than deleting all activities manually. If you too want to get rid of your Facebook past, follow the following steps.

    How To Delete All Your Facebook Activity: Step By Step

    1) Turn on your PC or Mac

    The steps described below do only work on a PC or Mac. There is no shortcut which you can use on your mobile device or your Facebook app.

    2) Use the Google Chrome Browser to Access Facebook

    I tried several scripts to delete my Facebook activity. The easiest and most reliable procedure works with Google Chrome. So if you don’t use Google Chrome click here to get it.

    3) Log-In to your Facebook Account Using Chrome

    The next step – apparently – is to log in to your Facebook account.

    4) Download the “Social Book Post Manager” Extension for Chrome

    Social Book Post Manager Plugin Chrome Extension Google Chrome Store Delete Facebook Activity

    Next, download the necessary extension for Google Chrome. The extension is called “Social Book Post Manager.” Click here to install it in Chrome or open the same link in the Chrome browser you want to use to delete your Facebook activity.

    5) Navigate to Your “Activity Log”

    Facebook View Activity Log Button

    Now go to your own Facebook profile and click on the “View Activity Log” button.

    6) Click on the Icon of the newly Installed Extension

    First, select on the right-hand side of the Facebook activity log which activity you want to delete or hide. For example posts you have posted, posts you were tagged in, photos, videos, etc. You can delete your own posts but you can only hide posts or photos you were tagged in.

    Now you select which time frame you would like to delete everything from your activity log. You can choose specific years and or months. If you want to remove everything, select “Select All.”
    Check or uncheck the “Prescan on Page” selection however you desire. If you run the script in the background, you probably won’t need a prescan.

    To start the script and to DELETE EVERYTHING from your Facebook activity log click on “Delete” or “Hide”.

    For better results read the update below.

    Facebook Does Not Want Us To Do This

    The question which remains is the following: why does Facebook not merely offers a button to delete all of our Facebook activity? Why do they – on purpose – design this process like a pain in the ass?

    I leave the question with you. Be aware what you post on Facebook and don’t allow Facebook to become too mighty in your life. Try to implement alternative services into your life. I switched nearly all of my communication to Telegram

    I hope this post was helpful for you. If it was, feel free to leave a comment or share it with your loved ones.

    Update for better results:

    • Don’t open any other Facebook window in another browser tab and don’t open any Facebook app on your phone or tablet while running the script.
    • Deactivate or delete any other Facebook-related Chrome plugins you might have already installed. Other plugins might interfere with “Social Book Post Manager”. To see all your installed plugins visit: chrome://extensions/
    • If the plugin does not delete everything, please reduce the speed in which the plugin runs. The standard speed is 4x. If the plugin skips too much of your activity, set it to 2x or 1x or even slower. In this case, think about running your PC for one night in the background.
    • If you have been a heavy Facebook user (myself included) the script might not be 100% accurate. For better results simply run the plugin multiple times.
    • After my entire activity log and timeline was eradicated (it was empty, not a single post on it), there were still appearing old posts on my Facebook timeline out of nothing (every now and then). I simply deleted these posts by hand.

    Note from August 2021:

    I see some comments who claim that this method does not work anymore. I can neither confirm nor deny it, as I deleted my Facebook account entirely. If it worked for you, please let others know in the comment section.

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  • Greed Hinders Innovation and Progress

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    3 min read

    If there is one thing which is slowing down our human progress what would it be? I propose that human greed is a significant obstacle to innovation and human progress.

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  • Dear HR-Historians, It Is Not The Employees Fault

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    3 min read

    “It is shocking, how many people start applying for new jobs only after six, seven, or nine months. It is also terrifying that many have barely survived more than one or two years in other jobs. Are they all misjudged geniuses?”

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  • My Affirmations Saved me from Taking a Job I Never Wanted To Do

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    2 min read

    Today, I experienced for the first time in my life how my goals act like magnets. How and why?

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  • Apply These Two Rules Into Your Life to Stay Positive

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    3 min read

    3-2-1 and the 5-Minute Rule

    A few days ago I listened to a talk of Hal Elrod. He talked about a concept he called the 5-minute rule. I found that the 5-minute rule is a perfect supplement to my own 3-2-1 rule. Both are straightforward but still very powerful rules you can quickly implement into your life, so I decided to share them with you here.

    The 5-Minute Rule

    In one of his talks, Hal Elrod introduced the five-minute rule. Hal was involved in a severe car accident where he died for a few minutes. When he found himself in intensive care with the worst possible injuries, he remembered the five-minute rule which he learned during his sales career.

    Here is what the 5-minute rule says:

    It is okay to be upset, angry, sad, or whatever negative emotion you are feeling. But it is only allowed to feel that way for maximum five minutes. So feel free to scream aloud but make sure to stop after 300 seconds.
    After five minutes, you accept the reality as it is. You start giving all you can to improve the current situation. Hal had severe injuries. Instead of whining how bad his situation is, he decided to be the happiest guy in the hospital as he wasn’t going to change the current situation anyway.

    The same can be applied to your life. If you feel stuck in a lousy situation, feel free to let out your negative emotions for five minutes. After five minutes are over, accept the situation and give all you can to reduce the harm of the circumstances.

    3-2-1 Rule

    I found that the 5-minute rule blends perfectly with my 3-2-1 rule. I started using the 3-2-1 rule after I read a similar concept in a book some years ago. If there is anything that upsets you, don’t immediately get angry. Instead, start counting down from 3 to 0. Loud or in your head: three, two, one, zero. While you are counting back, ask yourself if it is worth to feel upset, angry, mean or whatever you are about to feel. Usually, the answer is no, and you can resolve the situation calmly.

    Here is a simple example; you are on the road, and another driver is challenging you into a race on the road. Instead of giving in, count from 3-0 and ask yourself if it is worth it. While you are counting – three, two, one, zero – ask yourself:

    • Is it worth to accept this race even though I could die?
    • Is it worth to accept this race even though the police may fine us?
    • Is it worth to accept this race even though I may kill somebody?

    You will quickly realize that it is not worth racing with a random guy on the street. Simply smile and keep the speed limit.

    Implementing the 3-2-1 rule already avoided me a lot of headaches and countless arguments. Just ask yourself: Is it worth it?

    Even though these are only two tiny exercises, I think if you implement them into your daily life, they can have a tremendous positive impact on you. Don’t let negativity win! Always think positive and remember that negativity is not worth it.

    Photo by Luca Iaconelli on Unsplash

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  • Good Intentions are Not Enough!

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    3 min read

    It Takes Money to Change the World

    Without money, you cannot save the rain forests in Brasil. You may protest and try to prevent illegal foresting, or start a blog and write about how severe the unlawful deforestation is. Now imagine what you could achieve with 100 million dollars in your bank account. Your chances to save the Brasilian rainforests are higher, much higher.

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  • Fighting Fake News

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    3 min read

    A Trustworthiness Index

    Fake news was most likely one of the most heard and used terms in 2017. The term is used to describe untrustworthy or false reporting in the mainstream media. It is also used to explain the phenomena where Facebook users randomly share false Facebook headlines which were published, i.e. by an ultra-left or ultra-right Facebook page. Both channels are the reason why as many people as never before have been in contact with the actual fake news.

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  • How to Get Rid of Your Time Consuming News Feed

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    3 min read

    If you are a Facebook user, it is very likely that you spent the majority of the time you have wasted on the Facebook news feed. The news feeds of every social media platform is designed as an endless collection of news, links, photos, and videos.

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  • I Permanently Deleted My Instagram Account

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    7 min read

    If you would have asked me four or five years ago whether I like Instagram my answer would have been: “I love it!”. However, ask me today the same question, and my answer is quite more complicated.

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  • May Greed be Holding Us Back?

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    3 min read

    Greed – Or Why Is There No Real Progress?

    Today’s society is driven by greed. We want more: more money, more likes, more time. In our society, we never have enough. We always want more. I think that the more-attitude is actually also damaging to our human progress.

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