Delete your account
This page explains how to delete your PulseZA account and exactly what happens to your information when you do. It applies to the PulseZA app on Google Play and the App Store.
You do not need an account to read Pulse. If you have never signed in, there is nothing to delete — the feed is served anonymously and no personal information is held about you.
Delete it yourself, in the app
This is the fastest route and needs nobody’s help:
- Open PulseZA and sign in.
- Go to Profile.
- Tap Delete account and confirm.
Your data is erased at that moment, in a single database transaction, and your sign-in account is closed straight after. Nothing is queued for later and nothing is merely deactivated.
If you cannot sign in
If you have lost access to your account, email morethikatleho@gmail.com from the address you signed up with, with Delete my account as the subject.
Requests are actioned within 30 days, and in practice within a few working days. We will reply to confirm once it is done. We may need to confirm you control the address before erasing anything — that check exists to stop somebody else deleting your account.
What is deleted
| Information | Where it lives |
|---|---|
| Your profile and nickname | PulseZA |
| Your public profile (display name, handle and bio) | PulseZA |
| The topic interests you picked | PulseZA |
| Stories you saved | PulseZA |
| Stories you liked or reacted to | PulseZA |
| Comments, comment likes, reports and blocks | PulseZA |
| Push tokens and notification settings | PulseZA |
| Record of notifications sent to your device | PulseZA |
| Email address and sign-in credentials | Clerk, our authentication provider |
That is everything PulseZA holds about a reader. Deletion is permanent and cannot be undone — signing up again later creates a new, empty account.
What is kept, and why
Nothing that identifies you personally remains in the PulseZA database after deletion. Two ordinary technical exceptions are worth naming plainly:
- Encrypted database backups. Routine backups taken before your deletion still contain your rows until they age out on their normal rotation. They are never used to restore individual accounts, and every copy is gone within 30 days.
- Server logs. Operational logs record that a deletion happened, including the internal account identifier, so the action is auditable. These rotate automatically and hold no profile content, saved stories or email address.
Like counts shown on stories are totals only. Once your reaction is deleted it is no longer part of any count, and the totals were never attributable to you.
How long it takes
| Route | Timeframe |
|---|---|
| Deleting in the app | Immediate |
| Emailing a request | Within 30 days, usually a few working days |
| Backups aging out | Within 30 days |
Contact
Responsible party: Pulse (South Africa).
Questions or requests: morethikatleho@gmail.com