$ rm -rf identity
delete your identity and data
applies to plaintxt on the web and the plaintxt Android app.
// how to delete — self-service, immediate
Android app: settings tab → danger → "burn this identity" → "burn it".
web: plaintxt.app/settings → burn identity → "delete my identity — permanent" → confirm.
note: identities live where they were created. delete from the app if you created it in the app, or from the browser that holds it on web — this browser can only delete an identity it actually has (otherwise the settings link just sends you home).
deletion takes effect immediately. there is no waiting period, no "deactivation", and no recovery.
// what gets deleted
✓ your username and public key
✓ all conversations you participate in
✓ all messages (already unreadable ciphertext to us)
✓ all encrypted attachments
✓ all sessions and devices
✓ push notification registrations
✓ the private key stored on your device
rows are hard-deleted from the database — not archived, not soft-deleted.
// what is retained
nothing tied to your identity. we keep anonymous aggregate counters (e.g. "number of messages sent today") that contain no identifiers and cannot be traced back to you. if you had a paid subscription, Stripe retains its own payment records under Stripe's privacy policy — those are payment records, not message data, and were never linked to your message content.
// deleting is your call, not a timer
your messages and identity are kept until you delete them — this changed in September 2026, and walking away is no longer the same as deleting. burning your identity is the complete option: it hard-deletes every message, file and key tied to it and releases your username. the one automatic case left is housekeeping — a free identity that goes 180 days without being used is deleted along with all of its data.
// can't access your identity?
identities are anonymous — there is no email or phone number on file, so we cannot verify ownership of an identity you've lost access to. but you don't need us for a free identity you have lost access to: it is deleted automatically, with all of its data, after 180 days unused. a paid identity does not delete itself, so if you have lost access to one, reach us via the contact page — we cannot verify ownership, but we can cancel the subscription so it stops billing.