Previously, getting your profile deleted from Facebook took emails, phone calls, a fair amount of begging, and probably some sort of star alignment. This week, Facebook quietly launched a support channel on the site to make deactivating your account easier. A deactivation at Facebook makes your information unviewable to other members, however the information is still stored on the Facebook servers. Additional steps can be taken to completely remove your profile information from Facebook, but it requires contacting Facebook through another method.

On Monday, The New York Times brought the issue to the masses, highlighting the troubles users have has trying to say goodbye to Facebook. Today, The Times followed up with comment from Facebook and revealing the new support channel.

It has been notoriously difficult to get profiles remove from social networking sites. But as more and more users realize that the information they have posted to these sites may damage their personal and professional lives, more and more users are looking for a way out. Not allowing users to easily remove their profiles is down right slimey. These sites should always provide a reasonable method for users to completely remove their information… without jumping through hoops of fire.

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