Unreal Engine · Epic Games Privacy Policy · View original document ↗

18-Month Inactivity Deletion for Children's Accounts

Low severity High confidence Explicitdocumentlanguage Unique · 0 of 325 platforms
Share 𝕏 Share in Share 🔒 PDF
Recent governance activity Unreal Engine recorded 3 documented changes in the last 30 days.
Start monitoring updates
Monitor governance changes for Unreal Engine Create a free account to receive the weekly governance digest and monitor one platform for governance changes.
Create free account No credit card required.
Document Record

What it is

Starting April 2026, if a child's Epic account is not used for 18 months, Epic will delete the personal information associated with that account.

This analysis describes what Unreal Engine's agreement states, permits, or reserves. It does not constitute a legal determination about enforceability. Regulatory applicability and practical outcomes may vary by jurisdiction, enforcement context, and individual circumstances. Read our methodology

ConductAtlas Analysis

Why it matters (compliance & governance perspective)

This new commitment directly responds to the FTC's 2024 amended COPPA rule, which introduced data retention limits for children's data, and creates a concrete operational obligation for Epic to implement automated deletion processes for inactive children's accounts.

Consumer impact (what this means for users)

Parents of children with inactive Epic accounts should be aware that after 18 months of inactivity, the child's personal data will be deleted under this new policy, which means account recovery may not be possible after that period.

How other platforms handle this

Mistral AI Medium

These Additional Terms apply only to the Mistral AI Products available on the Mistral AI Infrastructure and provided to customers located in the European Union that are subject to the EU Data Act (as defined below). These Additional Terms shall take effect on 12 September 2025 (the "Effective Date")...

WhatsApp Medium

Managing And Deleting Your Information. You have the right to access, correct, or delete your information in certain circumstances. We store information until it is no longer necessary to provide our Services or until your account is deleted, whichever comes first. You can delete your WhatsApp accou...

Perplexity AI Medium

Depending on your location, you may have certain rights regarding your personal information, including the right to access, correct, or delete your personal information, the right to data portability, and the right to opt out of certain data processing activities. To exercise these rights, please co...

See all platforms with this clause type →

Monitoring

Unreal Engine has changed this document before.

Receive same-day alerts, structured change summaries, and monitoring for up to 10 platforms.

Start Watcher free trial Or create a free account →
▸ View Original Clause Language DOCUMENT RECORD
"
Starting in April 2026, if a child's account remains inactive for 18 months, personal information associated with the account will be deleted (as defined by Children's Online Privacy Protection Rule, 16 CFR 312.2).

— Excerpt from Unreal Engine's Epic Games Privacy Policy

ConductAtlas Analysis

Institutional analysis (Compliance & governance intelligence)

REGULATORY LANDSCAPE: This provision directly references and responds to COPPA (16 CFR 312.2), specifically the FTC's 2024 amended rule that introduced data retention requirements for children's personal information. The FTC is the enforcement authority. The provision's explicit reference to COPPA's definition of personal information signals an intent to align with federal requirements, though compliance also depends on operational implementation in Epic's data systems. GOVERNANCE EXPOSURE: Medium. The commitment is clear and time-bound, which is positive from a transparency perspective. Governance exposure arises from the operational challenge of implementing automated identification and deletion of inactive children's accounts across Epic's global data infrastructure, and from the risk that 'inactivity' is not precisely defined in the policy beyond the COPPA regulatory reference. JURISDICTION FLAGS: United States (COPPA, FTC enforcement, primary jurisdiction for this provision). Equivalent children's data retention obligations may apply in the EU under GDPR data minimization principles, in the UK under the Children's Code, and under other national children's data protection frameworks, which may require shorter retention periods or different inactivity triggers. CONTRACT AND VENDOR IMPLICATIONS: Third-party processors holding Cabined Account data, including gaming console operators and cloud storage providers, must be notified of and contractually required to comply with the deletion obligation when Epic initiates account deletion. Data processing agreements should specify deletion timelines and confirmation requirements. COMPLIANCE CONSIDERATIONS: Compliance teams should (1) verify that automated systems for identifying and deleting inactive children's accounts are operationally implemented as of April 2026; (2) confirm that 'inactivity' is defined consistently with COPPA's definition and internal data systems; (3) issue deletion notifications to all sub-processors holding Cabined Account data upon triggering deletion; and (4) assess whether the 18-month period satisfies data minimization requirements under GDPR and the UK Children's Code, which may require shorter retention.

Full compliance analysis

Regulatory citations, enforcement risk, and due diligence action items.

Track 1 platform — free Try Watcher free for 14 days

Free: track 1 platform + weekly digest. Watcher: 10 platforms + same-day alerts. No credit card required.

Applicable agencies

  • FTC
    The FTC enforces COPPA (16 CFR Part 312), the federal framework that this provision expressly references as the basis for the data retention and deletion obligation.
    File a complaint →

Applicable regulations

CCPA/CPRA
California, USA
GDPR
European Union
Indiana Consumer Data Protection Act
US-IN

Provision details

Document information
Document
Epic Games Privacy Policy
Entity
Unreal Engine
Document last updated
May 5, 2026
Tracking information
First tracked
May 9, 2026
Last verified
May 9, 2026
Record ID
CA-P-007193
Document ID
CA-D-00086
Evidence Provenance
Source URL
Wayback Machine
Content hash (SHA-256)
6c9a1562e0e89a4ac5fd75fde762ccb9cff446945926d63aea566c2fd9cfb2e1
Analysis generated
May 9, 2026 15:56 UTC
Methodology
Evidence
✓ Snapshot stored   ✓ Hash verified
Citation Record
Entity: Unreal Engine
Document: Epic Games Privacy Policy
Record ID: CA-P-007193
Captured: 2026-05-09 15:56:42 UTC
SHA-256: 6c9a1562e0e89a4a…
URL: https://conductatlas.com/platform/unreal-engine/epic-games-privacy-policy/18-month-inactivity-deletion-for-childrens-accounts/
Accessed: May 13, 2026
Permanent archival reference. Stable identifier suitable for legal filings, compliance documentation, and research citation.
Classification
Severity
Low
Categories

Other risks in this policy

Professional Governance Intelligence

Need to monitor specific governance provisions?

Professional includes provision-level monitoring, governance timelines, regulatory mapping, and audit-ready analysis.

Arbitration clauses AI governance Data rights Indemnification Retention policies
Start Professional free trial

Or start with Watcher →

Built from archived source documents, structured governance mappings, and historical version tracking.

Frequently Asked Questions

What does Unreal Engine's 18-Month Inactivity Deletion for Children's Accounts clause do?

This new commitment directly responds to the FTC's 2024 amended COPPA rule, which introduced data retention limits for children's data, and creates a concrete operational obligation for Epic to implement automated deletion processes for inactive children's accounts.

How does this clause affect you?

Parents of children with inactive Epic accounts should be aware that after 18 months of inactivity, the child's personal data will be deleted under this new policy, which means account recovery may not be possible after that period.

Is ConductAtlas affiliated with Unreal Engine?

No. ConductAtlas is an independent monitoring service. We are not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by Unreal Engine.