Delete your account
You can delete (deactivate) your Backwire account yourself in about a minute, or ask us to do it. Either way it is permanent.
Option 1: in the app
- Sign in at app.backwire.chat or in the Backwire app.
- Open Settings (your avatar or name, top-left), then Account.
- Scroll to Deactivate account and choose it.
- Enter your password to confirm. Tick Hide my messages from new joiners if you also want your past messages hidden from anyone who joins those rooms later.
Option 2: by email
Write to support@backwire.chat from the email address on your account, with the subject "Delete my Backwire account" and your username (for example @name:backwire.chat). We confirm it is you by replying to that address, then deactivate the account within 7 days and tell you when it is done.
What is removed
- Your profile: display name, avatar, and the email address on the account.
- Every signed-in device and session is logged out; push notification registrations are removed.
- Your membership in every room. Nobody can message the account any more, and the username cannot be registered again.
- Open invites you created are cancelled.
What stays
- Messages you already sent remain, encrypted, in the rooms you sent them to, in the same way that a letter you posted stays with the person who received it. Only the people in those rooms can read them; the server never could. Choose "hide my messages from new joiners" if you want them hidden from future members.
- Server logs that may contain your IP address are kept for up to 14 days, then deleted automatically.
- Nightly backups are rotated out after two weeks, so a deactivated account disappears from them within 14 days.
Before you go
Deactivation cannot be undone and the username cannot be reused. If you only want a break, you can simply sign out everywhere (Settings, Sessions) instead. Questions: support@backwire.chat. Our full Privacy Policy describes everything we store.