Metaless

How do I prepare to move away from Facebook, Instagram and Threads?

In 2016, I wrote a post about the things I would miss if Twitter went out of business. I identified potential pain points, and identified what steps to take just in case. After Twitter was acquired, I was able to easily leave my account.

Now, I’m thinking about what it would take to leave Meta’s products. I don’t think they are going to go out of business. They are the social media equivalent of “too big to fail.” I’ve long believed that Meta is an unethical company that builds addictive products. They’ve been awful for a long time, though, so why have I just made the decision to plan my exit? I used to enjoy Instagram, but lately, not so much. I’m posting less, and at the same time, seeing less content from people I know. I think it’s time to start the process.

When we talk about Meta, I’m talking about three products that I currently use: Facebook, Instagram and Threads. I started using Facebook in 2008 and have used Instagram and Threads since they were released.¹ I now rarely log into Facebook, but I use Instagram and Threads regularly. I don’t use What’s App or Messenger, so those aren’t an issue for me.

I will note that some of the systems I adopted to leave Twitter help me with this new attempt to leave Meta. Since 2022, I’ve essentially run a P.O.S.S.E.² set up (Publish Own Site, Syndicate Elsewhere) where most of my posts start on bobwertz.com via Micro.Blog and are then shared to Bluesky, Mastodon and Threads. Threads is the only Meta app that allows for this type of API access so it tends to be a little more integrated into my daily routine.

Looking at the Meta apps individually, here’s what I need to do to move away from Meta:

Facebook. I’ve mostly already left Facebook. On my About Bob page, it’s listed under “Not Updated Social.” The only thing left there are my old posts. And some of those old post contain awesome stories from when my kids were little. I downloaded a file with all the content, but I’d really like an online archive. Manton with Micro.Blog has said before that building a Facebook importer should be relatively easy. If he builds an importer like he did for Twitter, I can probably go ahead and close my Facebook page.

Instagram. Over the last few years, I’ve slowed my posting to Instagram. These days, I mostly use Instagram to view content. Increasingly, the content is ads, TikTok influencers, and AI slop. I was never a TikTok user, but I now understand why people love (and are addicted to) the short video format. Once you get sucked in, it’s easy to just sit there scrolling and scrolling. That said, I have lots of content I want to see and I think I’d rather spend my time watching one of the dozens of TV shows on my list, reading through my RSS feed, or even watching long form YouTube videos.

I do have over 15 years of images on Instagram, and while they all likely exist in my photo library, I still want to keep a record of them. Thankfully, Micro.Blog does have a way to import Instagram posts. I’ll need to do some manual clean up, since some of my Micro.Blog images are duplicated on Instagram. I’ve already downloaded my images and run a couple of test imports. It’s going to take a little while, but it’s worth it.

While I may not immediately delete the account, I do feel like I’m already at a point where I can step away. Sometime soon, I’ll probably drop a note in the bio that my Instagram feed is no longer updated, and then delete the app from my phone. I actually just flipped my account to private. I’ve always had a public account, but recently, it just seems that every new follower is a spam bot that I have to block.

Threads. Weirdly, even though it’s the social media network I’ve been on for the shortest period of time, Threads might be the hardest to replace for me right now. It’s connected to Micro.Blog, so crossposting is easy. It’s is a great source for niche news that I care about, for example: women’s college basketball and F1. While I feel like I could easily leave Instagram, I believe that Threads still adds some value for me.

But more importantly, Threads is also the place where I get the most engagement on what I share through Micro.Blog crossposting. Part of this is the Threads algorithm, but I also do know a bunch of people on Threads who respond to my posts… which leads to the biggest problem of all…

Meta’s apps are where people I actually know share updates.

The real problem with leaving Meta is that my family, friends and acquaintances are there. Facebook and Instagram especially. If I leave Meta’s ecosystem completely, how will I communicate with friends and family? How will I know what’s going on in the communities around me? Sadly, I guess the simple answer is that I won’t. No other ecosystem has the extensive network that exists on Meta’s platforms and with today’s fragmented social media infrastructure, no singular alternative is going to form to rival the number of users that Facebook and Instagram have. A very small number of my friends are on Mastodon or Bluesky.³ A choice to leave Meta products entirely is a choice to cut off connections. And I’m not 100% ready to completely sever those ties.

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Which means I can’t quite get rid of Meta yet. But I’m actually closer than I thought I was. My plan is to look again at ways to preserve my Facebook and Instagram posts. I want an archive of everything. I’ll then completely pause activity on those platforms for the foreseeable future. I’ve long since deleted the Facebook app from my phone. Instagram will be next. I won’t delete those accounts yet. I’ll continue crossposting to Threads⁴ for the time being, but start to look for ways to get the same content on other channels. I wrote a total of six Twitterless posts, so I’ll likely follow up on this one eventually. Check back in on non-Meta social media for updates. Or just follow my RSS feed.

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Bob Wertz is a type designer, Ph.D. student and researcher living in Columbia, South Carolina. He’s been blogging since 2008.