Delete Your GospelVox Account
This page explains how to delete your GospelVox account and what happens to your data when you do. It is published in compliance with Google Play's Account Deletion Disclosure requirement and Apple App Store Guideline 5.1.1(v).
You can delete your account at any time. There is no waiting period and no contact with support is required.
In-app deletion (fastest)
- Open the GospelVox app and sign in with the account you want to delete.
- Go to Settings → Account → Delete Account.
- Confirm the deletion when prompted.
Your account will be marked for deletion immediately. You will be signed out and unable to sign in again with that identity.
Web request (if you can't access the app)
If you cannot access the app — for example, if you've changed phones, lost access to your sign-in provider, or already removed the app — email support@gospelvox.com from the email address linked to your GospelVox account, with:
- Subject: "Account Deletion Request"
- Body: the phone number and/or email address associated with the account.
We will verify ownership of the account by matching the email address you write from against the one on file, and complete the deletion within 30 days of verification.
What happens when you delete
Deletion takes effect immediately. Right away:
- Your login is deleted — the Google, Apple, or email sign-in you use for GospelVox stops working and you cannot sign in again with it.
- Your profile is anonymised: your display name is replaced with a placeholder ("Deleted User"), and your email address and profile photo are removed from your account record.
- Your push-notification tokens are removed, so the device stops receiving notifications for the account.
- Any unused Coins are forfeited — once the account is deleted you can no longer access or use your Wallet balance, and it is not refunded.
- Speaker (priest) accounts: your name, photo, email and phone are cleared from your Speaker profile and you are taken offline, so you no longer appear to users.
What remains after deletion
Some content is part of another person's record and cannot be erased when you leave; some records must be kept by law.
- Shared Session content — the chat messages exchanged during a Session, and any review or rating you left about a Speaker, remain part of that Session's history and that Speaker's review record. The other participant, and (for public reviews) other users, may continue to see them. We are extending the deletion process to anonymise this content as well; until that is in place, it is retained as described here.
- Financial, transaction, and Speaker KYC records — retained for the periods set out in the table below, because Indian and international law requires it.
What we are legally required to keep
A small set of records must be retained even after account deletion, because Indian and international law requires it. We keep these only for as long as the law requires:
| Record | Why we keep it | Period |
|---|---|---|
| Financial transaction records (Coin purchases, Speaker earnings, withdrawals) | Income Tax Act, 1961 — bookkeeping obligation | 8 years from the end of the relevant financial year |
| Speaker KYC documents (ID proof, ministry certificate) | KYC / AML obligations on Speakers who received payouts | 5–8 years depending on the obligation |
| Records needed to defend, exercise, or establish legal claims | Lawful interest of the operator | Duration of the claim plus limitation period |
| Aggregated, non-identifying analytics | Service improvement; no longer identifies you | Indefinite |
Once these legal retention periods expire, the data is deleted or irreversibly anonymised.
Effect on Sessions and Speakers
After deletion you can no longer start or join Sessions, because your login no longer works. Past Sessions, the messages exchanged in them, and any reviews you left remain part of the other participant's history and the Speaker's review record, and are not removed when you delete your account — in line with the Privacy Policy and the Terms & Conditions.
Sub-processors and downstream deletion
Deleting your GospelVox account also propagates deletion to our backend services:
- Firebase Authentication — your authentication record is deleted immediately, so you can no longer sign in.
- Cloud Firestore and Firebase Storage — your profile record is anonymised immediately (name, email and photo cleared). Remaining personal data is handled as described under "What happens when you delete" and "What remains after deletion" above.
- Firebase Cloud Messaging — your push-notification tokens are removed immediately on deletion, so the device stops receiving notifications for the account.
- Google Play / Google Payments (Android) — Google retains your in-app purchase and transaction records under its own obligations and applicable law; we cannot delete the records Google holds.
- Apple App Store (iOS) — Apple likewise retains your in-app purchase and transaction records under its own obligations and applicable law; we cannot delete the records Apple holds.
Reactivating after deletion
Account deletion is permanent. If you sign in again with the same Google or Apple ID after deletion, a new account will be created; your previous data is not restored.
Questions
- Privacy / data-protection enquiries: support@gospelvox.com
- Support: support@gospelvox.com
- Grievance Officer: Relin.m@outlook.com
See our Privacy Policy for the full account of how we handle your personal data.