Add a 7-day grace period to undo account deletion
Currently, deleting a Proton account is immediate and irreversible. I propose adding a 7-day "grace period" (or pending deletion state) after a user requests to delete their account.
Why is this needed?
Accidental Deletion & Regret: Users might make a hasty decision or accidentally confirm deletion. A small window allows them to change their mind and avoid losing critical emails, Drive files, and Passwords.
Account Hijacking: If a malicious actor gains access to a user's account, they can currently delete it instantly to destroy data. A 7-day window gives the real owner a chance to recover the account before everything is permanently wiped.
Industry Standard: Most major tech platforms offer a recovery window (e.g., 14 to 30 days) for exactly these reasons. A 7-day window strikes a perfect balance between user security and prompt data removal.
How it would work:
When a user deletes their account, it logs them out and disables incoming mail. If they log back in within 7 days, they get a prompt asking if they want to cancel the deletion request and restore the account. After 7 days, the data is permanently wiped from Proton's servers.
Since encrypted data already remains on Proton's backup servers for a standard period after deletion, I am not asking to change the data retention policy. I simply request that the immediate destruction of the user's Private Encryption Keys is delayed by 7 days. During this grace period, the account is disabled, but the keys remain intact to allow full recovery if needed.
Katerina
shared this idea
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Calle
commented
Thank you for raising this important issue. I am currently evaluating both Proton and 1Password for use as a password manager, and this is one of the points I consider particularly relevant.
Coming from the AWS world, I am familiar with the safeguard that a closed account can still be recovered for a limited period. Personally, I consider AWS to be the best-designed IT environment I have worked with and therefore often use its security and account-management concepts as a reference.
1Password also appears to provide a recovery option for a limited period after an account has been deleted.
I would therefore strongly appreciate a comparable safeguard for Proton accounts. An account should not become permanently and irreversibly unavailable immediately after deletion. A limited recovery period, handled through Proton Support and subject to strict identity and security verification, would provide important protection against accidental deletion, compromised accounts, or malicious actions.
This feature should ideally be available for all Proton account types, either as a standard security feature or optionally for a small additional fee.
Thank you again for submitting this suggestion. I sincerely hope that Proton will address this issue and that we will soon receive an official response regarding whether such a recovery mechanism is being considered or planned.