| 1 |
# Account Deactivation and Deletion |
| 2 |
|
| 3 |
Two ways to step away: deactivation (temporary, reversible) and deletion (permanent). |
| 4 |
|
| 5 |
## Deactivation |
| 6 |
|
| 7 |
Deactivating hides your profile, projects, and items from public view (Discover, search, feeds). Content is preserved, not deleted. You can't perform creator actions while deactivated. |
| 8 |
|
| 9 |
**To deactivate:** |
| 10 |
|
| 11 |
Go to Settings and click "Deactivate Account." |
| 12 |
|
| 13 |
**To reactivate:** |
| 14 |
|
| 15 |
Log in and click "Reactivate Account." Everything comes back exactly as it was. No time limit on how long you can stay deactivated. |
| 16 |
|
| 17 |
## Deletion |
| 18 |
|
| 19 |
Deleting your account is permanent and cannot be undone. |
| 20 |
|
| 21 |
**What happens:** |
| 22 |
|
| 23 |
- Account, profile, projects, and items are removed |
| 24 |
- If you have completed sales, content stays accessible to buyers for 90 days ([buyer access guarantee](../about/guarantees.md)) |
| 25 |
- All buyers are notified by email |
| 26 |
- After 90 days, content is removed from our servers |
| 27 |
- Transaction records and receipts are preserved indefinitely (tax and legal purposes) |
| 28 |
|
| 29 |
**To delete:** |
| 30 |
|
| 31 |
1. Go to Settings and click "Delete Account" |
| 32 |
2. An email confirmation link is sent to your registered email |
| 33 |
3. Click the link to open the confirmation page |
| 34 |
4. Confirm deletion on the page (this two-step process prevents accidental deletion from email link prefetch) |
| 35 |
|
| 36 |
The email link is time-limited and signed. If it expires, request a new one. |
| 37 |
|
| 38 |
**If you're a creator with no sales**, deletion is immediate. |
| 39 |
|
| 40 |
## Before You Delete |
| 41 |
|
| 42 |
- **Export your data** first: Settings > Data Export. See the [Export guide](./export.md). |
| 43 |
- **Cancel your creator tier fee separately**: deletion does not automatically cancel Stripe billing. (If you forget, email info@makenot.work.) |
| 44 |
- **Download your files**: once content is removed, it's gone. |
| 45 |
|
| 46 |
## What Buyers Should Know |
| 47 |
|
| 48 |
If a creator you purchased from deletes their account: |
| 49 |
|
| 50 |
- You receive an email notification |
| 51 |
- Your purchased content remains accessible for 90 days |
| 52 |
- Download everything during this window |
| 53 |
- Transaction records and receipts stay on your account permanently |
| 54 |
|
| 55 |
## See Also |
| 56 |
|
| 57 |
- [Data Export](./export.md): Download your data before leaving |
| 58 |
- [Guarantees](../about/guarantees.md): Buyer access and shutdown commitments |
| 59 |
- [Privacy Policy](../legal/privacy-policy.md): Data retention details |
| 60 |
|