From what I understand, if you log back in to your account within 14 days* then the delete request is cancelled and everything goes back to normal.
It makes me wonder if Facebook had a bad couple of days of people deleting their accounts and Mark Zuckerberg thought "Right, we've got 7 days to fix this and get them logging in again, let's get to it!"
Wrong. If you deactivate your account, you can bring it back. If you request it to be deleted, you have 14 days to cancel that request (by simply logging in) before it's deleted. Once it's deleted, that's the end -- you can't bring it back.
(edited to make clear which part of your comment is wrong)
Ah, you are correct. I just tried it (with a dummy account). Apologies. I work at FB but don't delete my account often. :)
It looks like you will be asked to confirm deletion if you log in during the waiting period. Simply logging back in will not cancel the deletion request.
"Your account has been deactivated from the site and will be permanently deleted within 14 days. If you log into your account within the next 14 days, your account will be reactivated and you will have the option to cancel your request."
This doesn't really change much for me. I'm very happy to have given up my Facebook account. It's more a matter of trust for me, and Facebook ruined that. Their brand is forever tarnished in my eyes.
There's a 14 day delay between the delete request and the profile actually being deleted. I'd wager that many folks can reclaim their profiles with sufficient ease.
It makes me wonder if Facebook had a bad couple of days of people deleting their accounts and Mark Zuckerberg thought "Right, we've got 7 days to fix this and get them logging in again, let's get to it!"
* I could have the precise timeframe wrong