Account & Data Deletion

You have the right to delete your World Headlines account and personal data. This page explains how to request deletion, what gets deleted, what happens to your data, and any exceptions where data may be retained.

1. Two Ways to Delete Your Account

We provide two methods for account deletion to comply with app store requirements and give you flexibility:

1.1 In-App Deletion

If you have a World Headlines account, sign in and follow these steps:

1. Open the World Headlines app.
2. Go to Me.
3. Select "Account."
4. Tap "Delete account."
5. Read the deletion information, then tap the red deletion button to open the confirmation dialog.
6. Confirm deletion in the dialog. These two confirmations require no typing. Once the request succeeds, deletion takes effect immediately; the remaining account record is permanently deleted after the 30-day retention period.

The app displays a success message after deletion succeeds and returns you to Me, signed out.

1.2 Web-Based Deletion Request (Always Available)

If you do not have access to the app, you can request deletion via email:

1. Send an email to support@wh.news.
2. Use the subject line: "Account Deletion Request."
3. Include your account email address and send the request from that address.
4. State clearly that you want your account and personal data deleted.

We will verify your identity (usually by confirming the email matches our records or by asking you to respond from the account email address). Once verified, we will process your deletion request within 30 days.

2. What Gets Deleted

When your account deletion request succeeds, the following data is deleted or anonymized:

• Account information: Your email address and user ID. The email address is replaced immediately, and the remaining account record is permanently deleted after the 30-day retention period.
• Profile information: Your display name and saved channel order are removed with the account. This device's stored data is cleared immediately.
• Saved stories and activity: Saved stories, article likes, reading history, in-app notifications, blocked accounts, and comment likes are deleted immediately.
• Comments and replies: Your comments remain in their threads but become anonymous in every language edition. The author name becomes "Deleted user," and the author email, author URL, and link to your account are removed.
• Device records and sessions: Account-linked device records are deleted and all sign-in sessions are invalidated. At sign-in, the app sends the device model, time zone, platform, and app version; it does not collect hardware or advertising identifiers. Servers also receive your IP address for rate limiting and abuse investigation; the account audit record stores it as a hash, as described in Section 3.

The data listed for immediate deletion is removed when the request succeeds. The remaining account record is retained for 30 days and then permanently deleted by scheduled cleanup. Comments remain anonymous, and the limited audit record is described below.

3. What May Be Retained

In certain cases, we may retain some data after account deletion:

3.1 Legal and Regulatory Obligations

We may retain data if required by law, regulation, or court order. Examples include:

• Records related to pending legal disputes or investigations.
• Data subject to legal holds or subpoenas.

Retained data is stored securely, accessible only to authorized personnel, and deleted once the legal obligation ends.

3.2 Deletion Audit Record

A deletion audit record records the deletion action, time, hashed user and IP values, and audit details. It does not include your email address in plain text. A short abuse log is kept where the law requires it.

3.3 Fraud Prevention and Security

The IP address is used for rate limiting and abuse investigation, and is stored as a hash in the account audit record. After account deletion, a short abuse log is kept where the law requires it.

3.4 Third-Party Systems

If you shared content via third-party platforms (e.g., social media), or if your data was processed by external services before deletion, we cannot control or delete data held by those third parties. You will need to contact them directly.

4. Processing Timeline

Once the deletion request succeeds, you are signed out on every device, this device's stored data is cleared, your comments become anonymous, and the account data listed for immediate deletion in Section 2 is removed. The remaining account record is retained for 30 days and then permanently deleted by scheduled cleanup.

You can cancel in the confirmation dialog before submitting the request. Once deletion succeeds, the immediate deletion and anonymization cannot be undone. The 30-day retention period is not a cancellation window.

5. Verification and Identity Confirmation

To protect your account from unauthorized deletion requests, we verify your identity before processing deletion. Verification methods include:

• Email match: The email you send from must match the account email on file.
• Email sign-in: To sign in to the app, enter your email address and the six-digit code sent to that address.
• In-app confirmation: While signed in, tap the red deletion button, then confirm in the dialog. No typing is required to confirm deletion.

If you no longer have access to your account email and cannot verify your identity, we may not be able to process the deletion request. Contact us for assistance.

6. Irreversibility of Deletion

Once your account is deleted and data is removed from our systems, it cannot be recovered. This includes:

• You cannot restore your account or data.
• We cannot restore deleted saved stories or reading history, or reconnect anonymized comments to your account.
• You can continue reading and listening without an account.

Save any content you want to keep before requesting deletion. The app has no export button; to request a copy of your account data before deletion, contact us from your account email address.

7. Partial Deletion Requests

If you want to delete specific data without deleting your entire account (e.g., delete reading history but keep the account), contact us at support@wh.news with the subject line "Partial Data Deletion Request." Describe what you want deleted. We will do our best to accommodate partial requests, but this may not always be technically feasible. In such cases, we will explain what can and cannot be deleted.

8. Minors and Parental Requests

If you are a parent or legal guardian and believe your child (under 13 years of age in the United States, or the applicable age in your jurisdiction) has created an account without your consent, contact us immediately at support@wh.news with the subject line "Minor Account Deletion." Provide proof of guardianship (e.g., copy of ID, birth certificate). We will expedite the deletion and investigate how the account was created.

9. Post-Deletion Communication

For in-app deletion, the app displays a success message after the request succeeds. This confirms the immediate deletion steps; the remaining account record is permanently deleted after the 30-day retention period.

10. Future Enhancements

We plan to add the following features to improve the deletion experience:

• Self-service data export: Download your data before deletion.
• Deletion status tracker: Check the progress of your deletion request in real time.
• Scheduled deletion: Set a future date for automatic account deletion.

These features are not yet available, but we intend to roll them out as resources allow. Updates will be reflected in this policy.

11. Related Privacy Rights

For information about other privacy rights (access, correction, data portability), see our Privacy Policy. For information about opting out of data sharing or sale (not currently applicable), see our Do Not Sell or Share Policy.

12. Contact

To request account or data deletion, or if you have questions about this process, contact:

World Headlines Inc.
Email: support@wh.news
Subject: Account Deletion Request

For general privacy inquiries, see our Contact Us page.