The fitness app refund that flipped my stance on data deletion

I used to think companies should keep my workout data forever, even after I canceled. Last month I asked a running app to wipe my 2 years of pace history and they fought me for 11 days, then sent a PDF of everything they still had. That showed me retention isn't about my benefit, it's about their liability and ad targeting. If they can't prove why they need my GPS routes from 2022, they shouldn't hold them. Now I read every deletion policy before signing up, and I check for state laws like CCPA that give you real teeth. Has anyone else gotten a company to fully erase old data, or do they always stall?

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reese_hayes711mo ago

Honestly this sounds like a lot of worry over something pretty small. So a running app kept your old pace data and sent you a PDF, that is annoying but it is not like they stole your bank info or posted your routes online. Most of these apps keep data because it costs them almost nothing and deleting it can mess up their systems, not because some ad team is sitting around studying your 2022 jog through the park. The CCPA stuff is real but it mostly matters for big things like your SSN or credit info, not your split times. Reading every deletion policy before signing up sounds exhausting for something that barely affects your life. If they erase it, great, but if they stall a few days I would just move on and not give it another thought.

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