Terms of use may change, so you should always check the most up-to-date terms of service. As of December 2016, Facebook’s Terms of Service state that you own all of the content you post on Facebook, and you grant Facebook a “non-exclusive, transferable, sub-licensable, royalty-free, worldwide license to use any IP content that you post on or in connection with Facebook (IP License).” Facebook states that the license ends “when you delete your IP content or your account unless your content has been shared with others, and they have not deleted it.” Also, Facebook states that when you delete your content, it “may persist in backup copies for a reasonable period of time (but will not be available to others).”

In particular, Facebook asserts that your content and identity may be used in advertisements: “You give us permission to use your name, profile picture, content, and information in connection with commercial, sponsored, or related content (such as a brand you like) served or enhanced by us. This means, for example, that you permit a business or other entity to pay us to display your name and/or profile picture with your content or information, without any compensation to you.”