Facebook 'withdraw' data changes

Mark Zuckerberg started the site to help students connect

The founder of Facebook says the social network will return to its previous terms of service regarding user data.

In a blog post Mark Zuckerberg said the move was temporary "while we resolve the issues that people have raised".

Users had complained after new terms of service seemed to suggest Facebook would retain personal data even if someone deleted their account.

Originally defending the changes, Mr Zuckerberg said it was to better reflect how people used the site.

stressed that users "own their information and control who they share it with".

Concern grew when amended terms of service for the site deleted a provision that said users could remove their content at any time.

Facebook, which has 175 million users, said the changes reflected how people used the site.

Comments will remain on the site if a user deletes their account

Mr Zuckerberg said the changes were made to ensure that if a user deletes his or her account any comments or messages he or she had left on a friend's Facebook page would not also disappear.

He said: "We think this is the right way for Facebook to work, and it is consistent with how other services like email work. One of the reasons we updated our terms was to make this more clear."

He added: "In reality, we wouldn't share your information in a way you wouldn't want."

Some Facebook users have created groups on the site to oppose the changes.

It is not clear just how much data, or what types of data, is retained on Facebook if a user decides to shut their account.

Over the past few days, we have received a lot of feedback about the new terms we posted two weeks ago. Because of this response, we have decided to return to our previous Terms of Use while we resolve the issues that people have raised.