Apple · Apple App Store Review Guidelines

Mandatory Account Deletion Requirement

Medium severity
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What it is

If an app lets you create an account, it must also let you delete that account from within the app itself — developers cannot make deletion difficult or inaccessible.

Consumer impact (what this means for users)

Consumers have a guaranteed in-app pathway to delete their account and associated personal data from any App Store app that supports account creation, reducing the burden of exercising data deletion rights.

What you can do

⚠️ These actions may provide transparency or partial mitigation but may not fully address the underlying issue. Effectiveness varies by jurisdiction and individual circumstances.
  • Delete Your Data
    Open the app, navigate to account settings or profile, and look for a 'Delete Account' option. Apple requires all apps with account creation to provide this feature within the app itself.

How other platforms handle this

Figma Medium

The Services are not directed to children under 13 ((or other age as required by local law - please see Section 3. In many jurisdictions, including California and the EU, the Services may not be used by anyone under 16), and, except for limited circumstances set forth below, we do not knowingly coll...

Comcast Medium

How long we keep your information

OpenAI Medium

We retain Personal Information for as long as necessary to fulfill the purposes for which it was collected, including for the purposes of satisfying any legal, accounting, or reporting requirements, to establish or defend legal claims, or for fraud prevention purposes. When we no longer need Persona...

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Why it matters (compliance & risk perspective)

This requirement directly supports consumers' right to erasure and makes it significantly easier for users to remove their personal data from apps and services.

View original clause language
Apps that allow for account creation must also allow users to initiate deletion of their account from within the app. This includes offering account deletion for users who are no longer able to access the app (for example, due to device loss).

Institutional analysis (Compliance & legal intelligence)

REGULATORY FRAMEWORK: This provision operationalizes GDPR Art. 17 (right to erasure), CCPA §1798.105 (right to delete personal information), and equivalent data subject rights frameworks. It creates an enforceable platform-level mechanism for data deletion requests, supplementing statutory obligations. Apple's enforcement of this requirement means that failure to implement account deletion is both a guideline violation (risking app removal) and a potential independent regulatory violation under applicable data protection law.

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Applicable agencies

  • FTC
    The FTC has enforcement authority over unfair or deceptive practices related to failure to honor data deletion requests under FTC Act Section 5.
    File a complaint →

Applicable regulations

CCPA/CPRA
California, USA
FCRA
United States Federal
GDPR
European Union
GLBA
United States Federal
HIPAA
United States Federal
UK GDPR
United Kingdom

Provision details

Document information
Document
Apple App Store Review Guidelines
Entity
Apple
Document last updated
March 24, 2026
Tracking information
First tracked
March 6, 2026
Last verified
April 9, 2026
Record ID
CA-P-002421
Document ID
CA-D-00025
Evidence Provenance
Source URL
Wayback Machine
SHA-256
877541265fefdbebabcd1e30fe9651433f6b1dd3064ee4d811f9f9918e043f98
Verified
✓ Snapshot stored   ✓ Change verified
How to Cite
ConductAtlas Policy Archive
Entity: Apple | Document: Apple App Store Review Guidelines | Record: CA-P-002421
Captured: 2026-03-06 20:15:42 UTC | SHA-256: 877541265fefdbeb…
URL: https://conductatlas.com/platform/apple/apple-app-store-review-guidelines/mandatory-account-deletion-requirement/
Accessed: April 28, 2026
Classification
Severity
Medium
Categories

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