WhatsApp co-founder wants you to delete your Facebook account

Brian Acton, who co-founded WhatsApp with Jan Koum in 2009, has declared it's time for you to leave Facebook, following the recent scandal with Facebook's alleged indirect involvement in the US Elections of 2016.

A little backstory in case you missed it - data mining and analytics firm Cambridge Analytica misused Facebook user data in violation of Facebook's guidelines and terms, leading to a continuing, huge scandal. The data played a huge role in influencing voters in the 2016 US Elections to favor then-candidate Donald Trump. The scandal has lead to a big drop in Facebook stock value in the past week.

It goes without saying that many in the tech community have turned their attention to Facebook and CEO Mark Zuckerberg's silence has been troubling. Some investors are even reportedly suing Facebook over the stock price drop.

So in light of the evolving controversy Brian Acton voiced his opinion on Twitter that people should delete their Facebook accounts, saying "Delete and forget. It's time to care about privacy."

It is time. #deletefacebook

— Brian Acton (@brianacton) March 20, 2018

Brian Acton left WhatsApp earlier this year. Facebook's $22B acquisition of the messaging app has lead to his impressive $5.5B net worth. He has recently invested some $50M into a WhatsApp-rival service Signal.