EdgeXplore

Clubhouse might feel like an exclusive... well, club, but you may discover it isn’t for you once you finally get to try it out yourself. Whether you find one of the numerous Clubhouse ripoffs competitors more appealing, you just don’t like the open audio conversation format, you find the app’s constant access to your phone’s contacts and its inconsistent privacy policy a bit sketchy, or you could do with a bit less unmoderated anti-Semitism, there are plenty of valid reasons to stop using Clubhouse.

And if you’re never coming back, you should cancel your account completely and make sure your personal data gets deleted, too. That way your info won’t be leaked if Clubhouse accidentally exposes it or hackers crack into their servers.

Unfortunately, it seems forcing Clubhouse to delete your data and cancel your account is almost as difficult as getting into the beta. Other social media services like Twitter, Instagram, and TikTok let users delete account data from their mobile app’s settings or on their websites. Clubhouse does not.

The only way to clear your Clubhouse data is to fully delete your account (at least while the app is in beta). However, you can’t delete your account in the app either. Instead, you have to email Clubhouse support to delete your account and all data associated with it.

“OK,” some might say, “sounds easy enough.” And sure, sending an email is the easy part. But the rest of the process isn’t as simple and takes much longer than you would assume.

How to cancel your Clubhouse account

Before sending your deletion request, make sure your Clubhouse email address is verified. Clubhouse will only delete an account if the request is sent from a verified email associated with the account:

1. In the Clubhouse app, tap your profile picture.

2. Tap the “@” icon in the upper-right.

3. If your email is not verified (or if you need to update it), tap your email address, make sure it’s correct, then select “Verify.”

4. Check your email inbox and open the verification email from Clubhouse.

5. Follow the instructions.

After verifying your Clubhouse email, send your deletion request using the Clubhouse Support submission form.

The next step is to wait. As other publications (and upset users) point out, Clubhouse takes a while to follow through. Once Clubhouse confirms the deletion request, the account is flagged as “deactivated,” which hides the profile from other users and prevents you from logging back in. However, this does not mean your account—or your personal data—has been deleted.

Your account will eventually be zeroed out, but Clubhouse does not say how long that will take, nor does their seem to be a reliable way to confirm the current status of a deleted-but-not-actually-deleted account. But once the deactivation period is over, your Clubhouse account will finally be canceled and your data should (theoretically) be removed from Clubhouse’s servers.