If you want a digital detox, you’re going to
have to pull the trigger yourself. Social
Roulette is an app that would delete one in six
users’ Facebook account data, but its founder
confirms it’s been blocked by Facebook so it
no longer functions. While there’s no specific
policy prohibiting apps from deleting your
data, Social Roulette is clearly counter to
Facebook’s mission and business model.
Social Roulette launched on Saturday as an
online version of Russian Roulette, the lethal
real-life game where a player places one bullet
in a six-chamber revolver pistol, spins the
cylinder, and fires the gun at their head. You
die, you lose. But on Social Roulette, it’s
implied that having your Facebook account
deleted means you won. If you’re hit that one
in six chance, the site explains “we can
completely remove all your posts, friends,
apps, likes, photos, and games before
completely deactivating it.” Otherwise, it just
posts to Facebook saying you survived the
game, and encouraging your friends to risk
their digital lives.
Social Roulette describes itself, saying
“Everyone thinks about deleting their account
at some point, it’s a completely normal
reaction to the overwhelming nature of digital
culture. Is it time to consider a new
development in your life? Are you looking for
the opportunity to start fresh? Or are you just
seeking cheap thrills at the expense of your
social network? Maybe it’s time for you to
play Social Roulette.” Co-founder Kyle
McDonald tells me he came up with the idea a
few weeks ago, but hacked it together in just
four hours with Jonas Lund and Jonas Jongeja
after Lund had an idea for how it could
actually work.
The app capitalizes on exhaustion with social
networks. The dizzying stream of information,
constant success theater, and perceived
“responsibility” to be contactable can grow
tiresome after a while. When I asked co-
founder McDonald about the philosophy behind
Social Roulette, he told me”Everyone talks
about deleting their Facebook account, but we
rarely take action. Sometimes we need a
simple game to help take the responsibility off
our shoulders, and provide a moment for
reflection. Social Roulette is more of a
provocation rather than a tool.”
Social Roulette seemed to be looking for a
fight, considering it’s selling t-shirts of its
logo, which rips off Facebook’s and sticks it
inside a chamber of a six-shooter pistol.
Facebook has aggressively pursued others
who’ve tried to coin off of its trademarks.
Facebook has also recently shut off API access
to apps it perceives as competitors like Vine,
as well as ones like Voxer that don’t share
much back to it. Facebook has also blocked
apps without specifying a reason but that have
been accused of spamming like Path.
Now McDonald tells me, “It took us 4 hours to
create the project, and it took another 4
hours after the launch for Facebook to respond
by blocking the API key and restricting our
ability to create Facebook applications. The
app was flagged by an automated system for
‘creating a negative user experience.’ After
review, they decided they don’t like our
logo either. We tried to follow the branding
guidelines but we must have misunderstood
them.” You could say the shut down was a bit
murky as there’s not a specific platform policy
that the app’s data deletion function violates,
but Facebook typically enforces the spirit, not
the letter, of the law. It might end up adding a
specific provision banning apps that focus on
deleting your data.
Facebook tells me in an official statement,
“We take action against apps that violate our
platform policies as laid out here: https://
developers.facebook.com/policy/, in order to
maintain a trustworthy experience for users.” It
didn’t specify which policy, though. However,
the app did allow users to circumvent
Facebook’s account deactivation feature, which
is designed to let people turn off
their account but turn it back on later without
losing their content and connections. This
could be considered a violation of Facebook
Platform Policy I.3 that states “You must not
circumvent (or claim to circumvent) our
intended limitations on core Facebook features
and functionality.”
This brings up the larger issue of where
Facebook draws the line when determining
when something is too close to its native
functionality. Some developers believe the
Facebook Platform is unstable because of
Facebook’s power to pick and choose who can
do what.
Without API access, Social Roulette can’t let
people login with their Facebook account, or
delete content from their profile. Surprisingly,
McDonald is optimistic that Social Roulette
will win Facebook’s approval and live on to kill
another account. “We’re currently working to
address this and other issues and expect a
return to normal service some time this week.”
I wouldn’t hold my breath, though. Facebook’s
goal to connect the world and earn money
through advertising based on their personal
data is directly threatened by Social Roulette.
Facebook purposefully makes deleting your
account tough so you don’t do it in a
momentary fit of anger. Even if it receives
jeers for shutting down apps at will, it’s not
going to put that gun in any third-party
developer’s hands.
source:techcrunch
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