Allow us to leave!
Here's one yardstick that I use before signing up for any new online service: I first search the Interwebs for stories from users who tried to close their account and to leave same service, and were given a hard time. I understand that commercially it is "rewarding" to show 300 million subscribers, even if 90% of them are stale accounts. But from a privacy and data security point of view, it does NOT make any sense for a user to leave an account behind that he/she knows for sure will never be used again. Some services, also larger ones, are handling this issue professionally, and have a decently findable link on their home page that allows the closing of an account and deletion of stored data. Others .. give you the run-around via six levels of customer "service", and in the end, they basically change your username to username.inactive, but leave everything else as-is. And keep spamming you, too.
If you have stories to share about online services that don't let you leave, please do so below. Keep it PG-13 and factual, please, but if a little ire shines through, we understand ...
Comments
In a seemingly past life, I managed domains for many companies. I'll never forget when the whole SOPA/PIPA thing was going on and I had dozens of clients finally ready to take my advice and transfer away from GoDaddy. Of course, ( and in spite of http://www.icann.org/en/news/announcements/advisory-03apr08-en.htm ) GoDaddy misleadingly holds a domain hostage for ~90 days after any change of WHOIS contact information. I had clients either jumping through hoops with GoDaddy's support, or simply giving up, due to this practice. I wholeheartedly believe that this is their intention: make it hard to leave while still attempting to seem legitimate to the uneducated consumer in which they target. I no longer use GoDaddy or manage domains that do, so it's possible they have abandoned this practice, but I doubt it.
Anyway, I digress. :)
Anonymous
Apr 21st 2014
9 years ago
Anonymous
Apr 22nd 2014
9 years ago
It also provides details of how to close accounts, when the company behind the website is not very forthcoming on how to "close your account" or "unsubscribe from their services".
Anonymous
Apr 22nd 2014
9 years ago
https://support.skype.com/en/faq/FA142/can-i-delete-my-skype-account
Anonymous
Apr 22nd 2014
9 years ago
The numerous private forums and communities around the internet are generally the biggest offenders. They neither have a policy or procedure for removal of your account and in many cases don't have a technical solution for removing an account as their database requires an account be associated with posts.
Many don't have a policy or procedure and aren't very responsive to these types of requests. For example the numerous automotive based forums run by Gigathreads don't have anything in their policy, FAQ, etc on how to go about locking or removing an account. And numerous attempts to contact them via their "contact us" didn't get a response.
On other forums I got very nice replies stating that while they run the forum they have absolutely no clue how to disable/remove an account. In some cases the only solution was for them to put the account on a list of "banned" individuals as that would keep he account from being logged into or used in the future. But getting his account put on a "banned" list seemed counter to my whole purpose which was to shut down his accounts to protect his identity and reputation.
Anonymous
Apr 22nd 2014
9 years ago
The reason a user wants to terminate and delete an account should never be a question.
It should be the right of a valid user to end any relationship with an organization conclusively for any reason they deem viable. In other words, once a user properly announces the explicit desire to end a relationship with a web site or organization, that any accounts that exist for that user be disabled and eventually deleted from the systems where it resides within the web site or organization. No questions asked.
I can understand where maybe an account is disabled for a period of time, but during that period, the account should not be allowed to be used for any other purposes, to include mailing/marketing lists.
I also wonder if the BBB.org folks have standards regarding this subject. I know the BBB is not the only resourse for business practice reporting, but they do have some track record in that regard.
Anonymous
Apr 22nd 2014
9 years ago
http://www.icann.org/en/resources/registrars/transfers/name-holder-faqs
ICANN requires a mandatory 60 day lock/hold on domain transfers or new registrations. GoDaddy was just taking this a step further by locking the domain when the contact information was changed on a domain in order to help prevent domain hijackings.
I worked at GoDaddy for 5 years and have seen it happen. An account is compromised due to a weak user password, or stolen password. Domain contact info is changed to person stealing domain, domain transfer is initiated, thief accepts transfer, bye bye domain. I can't even tell you how many calls or emails that were received on a daily basis of people complaining their domains were stolen, and not just at GoDaddy, this was a global problem. It was ridiculous. However GoDaddy does now allow you to lift the 60 day lock, but as you can imagine there are caveats.
I make a point to ensure my contact information is up to date, and I also make any changes well in advance of any transfers. Usually it is people making last minute transfers, or otherwise last minute decisions without any planning that run into issues with domains.
Anonymous
Apr 22nd 2014
9 years ago
That said, this is what I usually do to delete an account that I can't delete:
1) I delete all possible data from the service. If not possible, I replace it with bogus data/information.
2) I update or change all of my personal info as well and replace it with bogus info. This includes name, address, email, and if possible- username.
3) Finally, I change the account password to a password that is so complex that it'll never be remembered or used again.
* Caution, sometimes it's best to change your email address last, as a confirmation email will be sent to your new bogus email address. That's why it's important to use an email address that you know for sure is bogus. I.E. Bob-1234567890-deleted@abcd-domain-that-doesnt-exist-at-hello.org
Click save and you've gotten as close to a "deleted" account as possible.
Anonymous
Apr 22nd 2014
9 years ago
Anonymous
Apr 24th 2014
9 years ago
I'm currently looking at the "My Information" page, and I don't see anything on there that looks like a link or button to allow deleting (or even just closing) my account.
(I'm not actually planning on closing this account, but explaining your policy seems like it would be a good opportunity to lead by example.)
Anonymous
Apr 25th 2014
9 years ago