Delete fedora.im Matrix account?

Ask Fedora
1

So I really like Matrix as a concept and already had a matrix.org account when I picked up a fedora.im one as well.
I then saw afterwards from @mattdm that Fedora is paying per user and since I just decided to pay for Matrix myself to migrate to EMS’s ONE, I’d happily delete my Fedora matrix handle or deactivate it or whatever it is that will save a few bucks.
Anyone know how to do this?

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It’s priced by thr number of active users per month, not by number of accounts. So, no harm in having it.

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Thanks - I’ll keep it as a vanity handle then

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Regardless of cost, is there a way to delete a fedora.im Matrix account?

I have searched upstream documentation and found nothing.

However there is a way to deactivate (not delete) an account. After skimming that issue and this blog post on GDPR Right to Erasure, I am still unclear on what exactly “deactivate” means in Matrix (especially since both sources are 4-5 years old and features may have changed).

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I think it may be possible, but in general we don’t like deleting
accounts or groups as it causes lots of problems for open community
things and in this case I am not sure what the implications would be.

We can ask element about it tho if there’s some desire/need for it.

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I finally found what “deactivate” means in the Matrix Foundation Privacy Policy.

Briefly:

  • Messages only viewable by the deactivated account are deleted (within 30 days)
  • Messages already sent will continue to be viewable by whoever has received them
  • Messages will not be sent to anyone else (e.g. new users joining a room where the message was sent)
  • No reactivation

Some technical details here (devices and access tokens deleted etc)

I will do it myself if/when I decide to. For now I hold off from deactivating since it doesn’t do anything if I simply don’t use the account.

Note that this section of the Matrix privacy policy seems likely to change based on future development of related features. Anyone reading in the future should double check if the details are still the same. Also, the Matrix privacy policy has changed URL in the past and they did not set up any redirects, in case it happens again and you can’t find it.