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The Account Deletion Paradox

Risk

The risk

Why this matters

Contacting a service to delete your data confirms you have an account. In adversarial contexts (journalist, activist), the deletion request itself is evidence of association. The privacy action reduces privacy.

Setup guide

How to set it up

  1. 1

    Use email aliases from the start — so the 'real you' was never there

  2. 2

    If already exposed: weigh the cost of confirming via deletion vs. leaving dormant

  3. 3

    For new accounts: always register with an alias and a unique password

  4. 4

    Consider: sometimes leaving an account dormant is safer than requesting deletion