Delete account

Deleting your account removes your PulsVault profile and everything tied to it. Because your data is encrypted with keys only you hold, deletion is genuinely permanent — there's no support-side undo once it completes. To protect against mistakes and account takeover, PulsVault runs deletion through a short guided flow and holds your account in a 14-day grace period before anything is destroyed.

The deletion flow#

Open Account → Delete Account (the "Danger Zone") and work through three steps before a final scheduled state:

1. Reason. Pick why you're leaving and optionally leave feedback. This step also reminds you exactly what you'll lose.
2. Verify. Confirm it's really you with a 6-digit code. If you have two-factor authentication enabled, you enter the code from your authenticator app (TOTP); otherwise PulsVault emails a code to your account address.
3. Confirm. Review "what happens next," then type DELETE to schedule the deletion.

Once you confirm, you're immediately signed out and lose access to the app and your data.

If you own an organization#

The owner of a Team, Business or Enterprise organization cannot delete only their own account — that would leave the organization without an owner. The delete-account page says so (the heading reads "You own" followed by the organization's name) and its Delete the organization button takes you to the organization's own delete screen. You can also reach it yourself: it is the owner-only Delete organization link in the Danger zone on Organization → Organization → Information — see Organization information. It is not under Account. Deleting the organization closes every account in it, yours included:

• The page lists every account that will close — you, active members and suspended members — with the count, and what the organization holds: vaults, items, secrets, projects, teams and service accounts.
• You confirm by typing the organization's name exactly, then entering your master password.
• Every account is signed out at once, each member is emailed that the organization was deleted, and everything is erased on the same 14-day timeline as below. Nobody can sign back in to cancel it.

It works while the organization's subscription is read-only or locked — deleting is one of the two ways out of a locked account; the other is buying a plan. A plan that is still billable has to be cancelled first. If you would rather keep the organization running without you, transfer ownership to another member instead.

If you are a member of an organization#

An account in a Team, Business or Enterprise organization belongs to the organization, so you cannot delete it — or leave the organization — yourself. The delete-account page says so and points you to Account → My Organization, which names who to ask. An administrator removes you from the organization, and that closes the account.

When the page won't let you start#

Instead of the three steps you may see one of these. None has a workaround on this page — each names the real way out:

What the page says	Why, and what to do
Administrator accounts can't be deleted	Platform administrator accounts cannot go through this flow. Another administrator has to remove the role first.
Your organization manages this account (headed with its name)	Your account belongs to an organization. See who to ask opens My Organization, which names the person to contact.
You own followed by the organization's name	See the section above.
Cancel your subscription first	You pay for a personal subscription that is still live. Deleting the account would end your access without ending the billing, and this page cannot promise a refund, so cancel the plan first (Go to Subscription & Plans, under Billing), then come back — the flow opens as soon as the cancellation is done.

If your account is on an organization plan, the Delete Account item is not shown in the Account sidebar at all, and it is hidden for platform administrators too.

The 14-day grace period#

Scheduling deletion doesn't wipe your data right away. Your account enters a 14-day grace period starting that day:

During the 14 days	After the 14 days
Account is pending deletion; you're logged out.	Your data is permanently destroyed.
You can cancel and fully recover by signing back in.	Recovery is no longer possible — by anyone.

If you return to the delete-account page while a deletion is pending, you'll see the scheduled deletion date and a Cancel deletion & recover account button. Cancelling restores your account and all its data, then puts you back at the start of the flow.

What is erased, and what is kept#

On the scheduled date your account is erased from PulsVault's live systems: your vaults, items, notes and attachments, your devices and sessions, your settings, and any pending invitations or shares addressed to you. Your email address is released — signing up with it again creates a new, unrelated account.

A few things deliberately outlive the account:

What	Why
Items and attachments you added to someone else's shared vault	They belong to that vault, so they stay in it and pass to its owner.
Audit records of your activity	Kept for their retention period as a security record — the audit log is tamper-evident, so entries cannot be removed early. A few security records are kept permanently.
Invoices and payment history	Kept by our payment provider as the billing record.
Platform backups	Our own backups still hold a copy until they expire; your data is erased from them when they do.

Why deletion is irreversible after the grace period#

PulsVault is zero-knowledge: the server only ever holds hashes, wrapped keys, and ciphertext, never your plaintext or your real keys. When your account and its wrapped keys are purged, the ciphertext that remains anywhere can no longer be decrypted — which is exactly why the grace period exists as your safety window. See the zero-knowledge model for how that boundary works.

Troubleshooting#

Symptom	Cause & fix
"Invalid verification code"	Codes expire and are single-use. For TOTP, wait for a fresh code; for email, request the flow again so a new code is sent.
Didn't receive the email code	Check spam, confirm your account email is current, and retry — a new code is sent when you re-enter the flow.
The Continue button is disabled	You must select a reason (step 1) and enter a complete 6-digit code (step 2) before continuing.
Changed your mind after confirming	Sign back in before the scheduled date and use Cancel deletion.

Related#

• Recovery & Emergency Kit — recover access instead of leaving
• Profile — update your email before verifying
• Import & export — save your data first