Almost all of my friends are still on Facebook, and whilst I don’t want to use Facebook again, I can see some value in having an account there just to be able to communicate with friends.

I won’t publish anything to Facebook, directly or indirectly, nor will I crosspost from my blog to Facebook. This is not about gaining views or anything like that.

I’m wondering how minimal an account can be on Facebook, i.e. how much information will I have to provide Facebook. Can I simply provide an email address and password, or will they demand more…I know they want more, but what is the “minimum viable Facebook” configuration?

How much activity / tracking can I block? Can I make it so that I cannot be tagged in photos, posts, groups, etc. ?

What about the Facebook app, do I need it on my phone, or can I just use the web app? Does the web app allow you to block stuff, are its privacy settings comparable to the iOS version? If I do use the iOS app, can I block access to location, microphone, and other sensors?

I wish I had of given Facebook this much thought before I used it previously, hindsight is 20/20, of course.

I’m still not entirely convinced that this is a good idea…