Data Retention & Deletion

1. Current retention schedule

• Email sign-in codes expire after 10 minutes and can be consumed only once. The signed challenge record may remain in the security database until operational cleanup, but an expired or consumed code cannot create a session.
• Signed-in session cookies are issued for up to 30 days. Signing out or deleting the account clears the current cookie; clearing cookies on one device does not clear another device’s local browser storage.
• Profiles, readings, journals, collection and game progress, posts, comments, messages, submissions, Academy progress, credentials, storefronts, and catalog listings remain while the account or record remains active, unless removed by the member or moderation.
• Browser-only settings and cached public files remain until the browser evicts them or the member clears site data or uninstalls the PWA.
• Operational logs, report records, moderation evidence, consent history, and audit entries may be retained longer when needed for security, abuse prevention, dispute handling, or a valid legal obligation.

2. Export before deletion

A signed-in member can request a JSON export from Profile & Privacy. The export is generated for the current member and returned with private, no-store response headers. It can contain profile, vault, social, submission, messaging, Academy, media, and seller-catalog records associated with the account.

An export is a snapshot, not a promise that every infrastructure log, cache entry, external-site record, or another member’s independent content appears in the file.

3. What account deletion does

A published event already approved into the public event directory may remain as an organizer record without the former account owner attached. Records that must be kept for security, legal, or future transaction-integrity reasons may be separated from the deleted profile and minimized where practical.

• Requires a signed-in, same-origin request and the exact confirmation phrase shown in the privacy controls.
• Deletes the member profile and records that are configured to cascade with it, including the private Reading Vault and most member-created social and progress records.
• Deletes owned profile and listing media from configured storage and marks the matching media records inactive or removes them with the account relationship.
• Replaces messages sent by the deleted member with a deletion notice so the other participant’s conversation does not silently disappear while the sender identity is removed.
• Leaves a pseudonymous audit entry and a one-way, secret-derived deletion marker needed to honor the deletion and prevent the same email from silently recreating the removed account.

4. Removing individual content

Deleting or editing a post affects the record controlled by that member. It cannot remove screenshots, quotations, external copies, a separate post created by another person, or material submitted directly to an outside platform.

Moderated or reported content may be hidden from public view while limited evidence remains available to authorized reviewers. This helps prevent repeat abuse and supports an auditable decision without keeping the content public.

5. External services and recovery limits

YouTube, event organizers, linked creators, and other external sites control their own records and deletion processes. Removing a PickACard.TV link or submission does not delete the source from those services.

Temporary infrastructure backups or logs may take time to age out and are not used to restore a deleted account as an active profile. Exact retention can vary when preservation is required for security, a dispute, or law. The site will not claim a shorter deletion deadline than its current systems can demonstrate.

6. Marketplace records before and after payments

Payments and payouts are not active, so the current catalog does not create completed purchase records or store card details. If transactions launch, this page and the Seller Terms must be updated with concrete retention rules for orders, tax, refunds, chargebacks, payouts, and legally required business records before checkout is enabled.