You can permanently delete your ARA account at any time. This is GDPR Article 17 (Right to Erasure) and ARA implements it in the app, no email required.
Before you delete: a quick checklist
- If you OWN a Sanctuary, transfer ownership first. Otherwise the Sanctuary may be left without a steward. See the "Transferring Sanctuary Ownership" article.
- Download your data first. Settings > Account & Privacy > Download My Data. You'll get a JSON bundle of everything we hold about you.
- Tell your communities. A goodbye message in Council is kinder than a sudden disappearance.
What happens when you delete
- Your profile (name, email, avatar, telegram handle, skills, dietary preferences, mood signals) is wiped.
- You're removed from every Sanctuary's members[] and admins[] arrays.
- Your notifications and consent records are deleted.
- Your Firebase Auth account is deleted — you can no longer sign in.
- Authorship on shared content (Tasks you created, Proposals you wrote, Contributions you logged) is anonymised. Your name is replaced with "Deleted user". The content stays because it belongs to your Sanctuary, not to you.
Step-by-step
- Settings > Account & Privacy.
- Scroll to "Your Data, Your Choice".
- In the red "Delete My Account" panel, type your account email (case-insensitive) to confirm.
- Click Delete account.
- Confirm again in the dialog.
- You'll be signed out immediately and redirected to the home page.
This cannot be undone
Once deletion completes, there's no recovery. We don't keep a backup of personal data after Art. 17 deletion. If you change your mind, you'll need to create a new account from scratch.
If you only want to leave one community
Don't delete. Settings > Sanctuary > Leave Sanctuary. Your account stays intact for the other Sanctuaries you're part of.