# Shouldn't users be able to delete their accounts whenever they want?

**URL:** <https://meta.discourse.org/t/shouldnt-users-be-able-to-delete-their-accounts-whenever-they-want/215601>\
**Category:** Feature\
**Created:** [January 21, 2022, 9:14pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/shouldnt-users-be-able-to-delete-their-accounts-whenever-they-want/215601 "2022-01-21T21:14:21Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 1\
**Showing post:** 1

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![blueslimee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/meta/user_avatar/meta.discourse.org/blueslimee/32/247169_2.png) [@blueslimee](https://meta.discourse.org/u/blueslimee)\
**Post date:** [January 21, 2022, 9:14pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/shouldnt-users-be-able-to-delete-their-accounts-whenever-they-want/215601/1 "2022-01-21T21:14:21Z")

</div>

It’s truly weird the fact that you cannot delete your account whenever you feel like it. Currently, with Discourse, you can only delete your data if you have little to no activity at all and your account is relatively new.

Let’s take a look at [discourse.org/about:](http://discourse.org/about:)

> Discourse is a from-scratch reboot, an attempt to reimagine what a modern Internet discussion forum should be today, in a world of ubiquitous smartphones, tablets, Facebook, and Twitter.

Isn’t privacy a basic principle any modern Internet application should follow? We live in a world with the GDPR, users should have full ownership of their data. I don’t see how not allowing users to withdraw their data from a website can be useful (or modern).

Now, according to article 17 of the GDPR (Right of erasure/‘right to be forgotten’) ([https://ico.org.uk/your-data-matters/your-right-to-get-your-data-deleted](https://ico.org.uk/your-data-matters/your-right-to-get-your-data-deleted)), a user can request their deletion whenever:

- They initially consented to the website using their data, but have now withdrawn their consent;
- The website no longer needs their data for the original reason they collected or used it for (in this case, if they don’t use the website anymore);
- They have objected to the use of their data, and their interests outweigh those of the website using it;
- and the user can request deletion whenever their data has been unlawfully processed (for example, when the website didn’t follow proper data protection rules).

Of course, there are cases when the website can deny the request to delete the user’s data (e.g. when the data is needed for legal reasons or it is important for scientific and historical research). However, I think this type of usage is rare with Discours, so I don’t see why preventing users from automatically deleting their account (and complicating this process) is a default option. There should be at least an option to remove the account activity/joined-at limitation.

---

_[View the full topic](https://meta.discourse.org/t/shouldnt-users-be-able-to-delete-their-accounts-whenever-they-want/215601)._