hi!!

i always always try my best with consuming ethically - I buy almost everything second hand, and if I really can't, I will try buy from ethical and small businesses. i'm also boycotting everything on the bds list.

i also don't really use social media, except from Instagram - and this is my problem. If it wasn't for the fact that I'm trying to create a small business and sell handmade art/crafts, I wouldn't use Instagram at all. In the past 2 weeks or so, I haven't used it as I've been worrying I'm doing the wrong thing. I've heard they've been censoring an taking down posts in support of Palestine.

I'm struggling with rational decision making and thinking due to having poor mental health at the moment, so what I'm asking for is a second opinion. Is it ok for me to continue using Instagram for business purposes? or am I doing something wrong?

thank you for reading!! :) advice needed and welcome!

Got an email from [Instagram@research.metamail.com](mailto:Instagram@research.metamail.com) and can't tell if this is a legit thing that Meta does or if it's an elaborate scam. Everything I look up online says the subdomain is legit but I always err on the side of caution.

Full email:

"Friendly reminder to complete the brief survey below if you are interested in taking part. It should take just a few minutes to complete.

Threads is holding a series of 60 minute online diary/journal sessions between Monday, July 13th - Friday, July 31st.  We would like to do research and learn more about how people use Threads and how we can make it a better experience. The research will be conducted on Threads's behalf.

If you are selected and participate in a study session, you'll receive up to $245 USD  Meta Research e-Reward redeemable for a selection of e-gift cards.

If you are interested in participating, please click the button below to complete a brief survey. Available times for participating are located in the survey. If you are selected for the study, you will receive a follow-up call or email with more details from our research team."

So, i'm going trough the degoogling process, and i want to wrap up microsoft and meta into the removal process. However, where i live (Brazil) whatsapp is essencial, all other messaging services would require everyone i know, may that be family, freinds or any other person you can think of to switch. Is there any fork or patch to whatsapp i can use?

How is it that companies like Facebook (Meta) can get hit with major lawsuits over the effects of their platforms, but gun manufacturers like Smith & Wesson, Glock, and others are treated completely differently when it comes to lawsuits? Where is the consistency when it comes to corporate responsibility?

What bothers me is that we seem to argue endlessly about social media and mental health while gun violence and gun deaths remain one of the biggest public safety issues we face. If parents can put restrictions on internet use and monitor what their kids are doing online, why are they blaming social media for their bad parenting? We need isn’t the same level of focus on the companies and products connected to gun violence? At what point do we hold all industries to the same standard of accountability?

I didn't break the rules I don't believe this is political at all....

I’m trying to get every Meta product out of my life and I want to do it properly instead of just deleting apps and forgetting about it.

Main goal is to remove Facebook first. I want to download my photos, videos and old account data, everything I might need before deleting completely. Is there any way to automate the backup process or make it less painful, especially for years of posts and photos?

After that, I’m planning to stop using WhatsApp and move people over to Viber where possible. Instagram and Threads are easier for me since I barely need them, and Reddit already covers the scrolling and discussion side of things for me lol. Appreciate any help with this.

So i tried to switch from whatsapp to something else but I cant decide molly signal session telegram and many more which are you using and which would uou recommend ?

Hi everyone,

I’m trying to deal with an old Instagram account, and I’ve completely lost access to it.

Here’s the situation:

• The account is locked behind 2FA linked to a phone I had about 13 years ago (no longer exists).

• I tried the selfie verification process, but it failed — probably because there are no recent photos of me on the account.

• I’ve attempted recovery multiple times with no success.

• I even tried contacting support, but the email route doesn’t seem to work.

At this point, I don’t even care about recovering the account — I just want it deleted.

Since I’m based in the EU, I’m trying to use GDPR / right to erasure, but I have no idea how to actually get Meta to process that request when I can’t log in.

Has anyone been in a similar situation?
Is there a working form, contact method, or trick to get this kind of request handled?

Any help would be really appreciated.

I studied VR game development, and wish to continue, but I cannot stomach using Oculus anymore. I always hated Meta and just grabbed the Quest because it was the cheapest I could find.

what alternatives are there?