The billionaire cofounder of WhatsApp, which Facebook acquired for $19 billion, just tweeted #deletefacebook

REUTERS/Mike Blake

Brian Acton

• WhatsApp cofounder Brian Acton jumped on the #deletefacebook trend Tuesday.
• The hashtag formed amidst claims that Facebook allowed data analytics company Cambridge Analytica to collect data from Facebook users' profiles.
• Facebook acquired WhatsApp for $19 billion in February 2014.

Brian Acton, the cofounder of the messaging company Facebook paid $19 billion to acquire four years ago, tweeted on Tuesday that he believed it was time to stop using Facebook.

"It is time. #deletefacebook", Acton said in a short tweet, without elaborating. 

The comment from a former Facebook insider is a particularly personal blow to the world's largest social network as it struggles to stem a public relations crisis following the news that it allowed the personal data of 50 million users to be exploited by Cambridge Analytica, a data-analytics firm with ties to the Trump campaign.

Facebook's stock has slid 10% since the news surfaced and the deletefacebook hashtag has been trending among some users, upset about the privacy violation.

Facebook acquired WhatsApp, the messaging app that Acton cofounded, in February 2014 for $19 billion - the largest deal in Facebook's history. Acton left Facebook in September of 2017 to start his own non-profit company.

It's not clear if Acton is advising others to delete Facebook or simply declaring that he plans to do so himself. Acton did not immediately respond to Business Insider's request for comment about his tweet. 

Here's his tweet: