# Data Export & Privacy

Your privacy matters. Mobieus gives you tools to control who sees your profile, download a copy of your data, and delete your account.

## Privacy Settings

Open your profile settings to control how you appear to other members.

| Setting | Options |
|---------|---------|
| Profile visibility | Public (all signed-in members) / Friends Only / Private (only you and admins) |
| Read receipts | On / Off — controls whether others can see when you have read their message |
| Show on your profile | Full name, location, email, phone, birthday, join date, friend count — toggle each on or off |

Changes take effect right away.

## Requesting a Data Export

You can download a copy of the main data Mobieus holds about you.

1. Open your account settings and find the **Data Export** section.
2. Click **Request Export**.
3. Mobieus builds your export in the background.
4. When it is ready, you get an email with a download link.
5. Open the link to download your ZIP file.

The download link works once and stays valid for 7 days. After you download it, or after 7 days, the file is removed and you request a fresh export if you need one. You can request one export per week.

### What Is Included

Your export is a ZIP of structured JSON files covering:

- **Profile** — username, email, name, location, join date, last sign-in.
- **Your posts** — the forum replies you wrote, with thread titles.
- **Your threads** — the discussions you started.
- **Messages you sent** — your outbound direct messages.
- **Achievements** — badges you have earned.
- **Credits** — your credit activity.

## Account Deletion

To permanently delete your account:

1. Open your account settings and choose **Delete Account**.
2. Enter your password and confirm that you understand the action is permanent.
3. Mobieus emails a confirmation link to your verified email address. Your email acts as a second factor, so deletion cannot start without it.
4. Open the link and confirm. Your account is then scheduled for deletion **30 days from now** and you are signed out.

During those 30 days you can cancel: sign back in and click the cancel banner to keep your account.

After 30 days the deletion is final. Your profile, direct messages, friends, and session data are removed. To keep public discussions readable, your posts in public threads stay in place but are anonymized to "deleted user" rather than deleted outright.

## Data Retention

- Active accounts: your data is kept for as long as the account exists.
- After deletion: your public posts remain but are anonymized; everything else is removed.
- Security logs that contain IP addresses are kept for a limited window for abuse protection, then deleted.