San Francisco, Mar 14 (IANS): Speaking publicly about his differences with Facebook, WhatsApp's co-founder Brian Acton urged Stanford University students to delete their Facebook accounts, as he explained his reasons for selling the app to Mark Zuckerberg in the first place.

Acton made statements on Facebook while addressing a panel that also involved a former Facebook software engineer, Ellora Israni at the university, Business Insider Australia reported on Wednesday.

"We give them the power. That's the bad part. We buy their products. We sign up for these websites. Delete Facebook, right?" Acton was quoted as saying.

Acton started WhatsApp with co-founder Jan Koum. Facebook acquired the messaging service in 2014 for $22 billion.

"I had 50 employees and I had to think about them and the money they would make from this sale. I had to think about our investors and I had to think about my minority stake. I didn't have the full clout to say no if I wanted to," Acton added.

Previously, in an interview with Forbes, Acton had explained that a disagreement on monetising WhatsApp was the reason he quit Facebook and gave up $850 million on the table.

"At the end of the day, I sold my company. I sold my users' privacy. I made a choice and a compromise. I live with that every day," Forbes had quoted Acton as saying.