What happens to my data when I delete my account?
Most of your records are removed at once, but some shared items stay and backups can keep copies for up to 14 days.
What is removed
Your profile, goals, habits and journal entries are removed.
Your wellness, fitness, nutrition and sleep logs are removed. So are your budget, net worth and other money records.
Circle posts, forum replies and most comments you wrote are removed.
Direct messages you sent are removed. Private conversations you were in are removed for the other person too.
Local groups and community initiatives you started are removed, even if other people joined.
Your sign-in details and your signed-in devices are removed.
What stays
Circles you started stay open for their other members. They are no longer linked to your account.
Discussion threads you started stay, so the replies other members wrote are not lost.
Initiatives and petitions you launched from the Initiative Hub or Petition Hub stay for the people who joined or signed. They are no longer linked to your account.
Problem reports you posted stay. They are no longer linked to your account.
Article comments and philosophy responses you posted stay too, unless the account clean-up below is on.
Anything another member already saved or copied stays with them.
The account clean-up
SOS has an account clean-up that runs when you delete your account. The lists in the delete window show whether it is on. While it is off, they say your name may still show. Once it is on, they say Former member.
While it is off, your name may still show on threads you started and on some of your article comments, problem reports and philosophy responses. Those comments and responses stay, no longer linked to your account.
Once it is on, article comments, philosophy responses, search history and saved wisdom entries are deleted. Where your name was copied onto items that stay, such as discussion threads, it reads Former member.
Backups
Every night the server copies the whole database and keeps the 14 newest copies. Your data can stay in those copies until they are replaced.
The privacy policy also describes a locked copy that the operator keeps on their own computer. That copy can stay longer if the backup script is not run.
Records kept as plain text
A few kinds of record store your member ID as plain text instead of as a link to your account. Deleting your account does not remove them at the same moment.
While the clean-up is off, they stay. To have them removed, write to admin@sosforchange.org from the address you signed up with. Put "Privacy request" in the subject.
Once it is on, an hourly clean-up on our server removes them, usually within a day.
Before you delete
Download a copy first if you want to keep anything. Deleting your account cannot be undone. Entries kept only on this device, such as the Encrypted Vault, are erased from it too.