Last updated: [LAST_UPDATED]
You can ask us to delete your FAFO Account and the personal data associated with it at any time. This page explains how to make that request, what gets deleted, what we may have to keep, and how long it takes.
This is your right to erasure under Article 17 of the GDPR. Exercising it is free.
Before you start
Deleting your Account is permanent and cannot be undone once the grace period described below has passed.
Please consider whether one of these would suit you better:
| Instead of deleting | You can |
|---|---|
| Stop receiving alerts | Turn off saved-search alerts and notifications in your settings |
| Take a break from selling | Archive your listings and keep the Account |
| Remove one vehicle | Delete the individual listing |
| Correct wrong information | Edit your profile, or ask us to correct it |
| Hide your telephone number | Remove it from your profile — enquiries still reach you by email |
If any of these solves the problem, you do not need to delete anything.
How to request deletion
Option 1 — In your Account settings
- Sign in at fafo-trust.com
- Go to Account → Privacy → Delete my account
- Confirm your password
- Read the summary of what will be deleted and confirm
Because you are already signed in, your identity is confirmed and no further verification is needed. You will receive a confirmation email.
Option 2 — By email
Write to privacy@fafo-trust.com from the email address registered to your Account, with the subject line "Account deletion request".
Please include:
- The email address on the Account
- Confirmation that you are asking for the Account and its data to be deleted
You do not need to give a reason, and you do not need to send us identity documents at this stage.
Verifying your identity
We verify every request before we act, so that nobody can delete someone else's Account.
| How you asked | How we verify |
|---|---|
| From within your signed-in Account | Your active session and password confirmation are sufficient |
| By email from your registered address | We send a confirmation link to that address, which you must click within 7 days |
| By email from a different address | We ask you to confirm from the registered address, or to provide reasonable evidence that the Account is yours |
If we cannot reasonably confirm that the request comes from the Account holder, we may ask for additional information. We ask only for what is necessary, and we delete anything you send for verification once the check is complete.
Where we still cannot confirm your identity, we may decline the request. We will explain why, and tell you how to complain.
What will be deleted
Once your request is confirmed and the grace period has passed, we delete or irreversibly anonymise:
- Your profile — name, email address, telephone number, city, profile photograph, and password hash;
- Your listings — every advertisement you published, in any state, together with their descriptions, specifications and equipment;
- Your photographs and videos — removed from the Platform and deleted from our object storage, including generated thumbnails;
- Your saved data — favourites, saved searches, alert settings and notifications;
- Your messages — enquiries you sent and received, subject to the exception below;
- Your sessions — all active sessions and refresh tokens are revoked immediately, signing you out everywhere;
- Your dealership profile, if you hold one, together with its description, logo and contact details.
Your listings are removed from public view and from search results immediately on confirmation, before the rest of the deletion completes.
What we may have to keep
Data protection law recognises that the right to erasure is not absolute. We may retain a limited amount of data where we have a legal obligation or an overriding legitimate reason. Where we do, we keep the minimum necessary, for no longer than necessary, and we do not use it for any other purpose.
| What | Why | For how long |
|---|---|---|
| Transaction and accounting records, where you paid for a service | Accounting and tax law | The statutory retention period, typically [ACCOUNTING_RETENTION_PERIOD] |
| Records of fraud, abuse or a serious breach of our Terms, including the associated identifiers | Preventing a banned user from returning, protecting other Users, and defending legal claims | [ABUSE_RETENTION_PERIOD] |
| Audit records of significant actions, such as moderation decisions | Security and accountability; the actor may be pseudonymised | [AUDIT_RETENTION_PERIOD] |
| Messages in a shared conversation | The other party has their own copy and their own interest in retaining a record of what was agreed | Your identifying details are removed; the message text may remain visible to the other party |
| Data subject to a legal hold | An active investigation, dispute or lawful order | Until the matter is resolved |
| Aggregate statistics, such as daily view counts and search totals | These contain no personal data and cannot be linked back to you | Indefinitely |
| Backups | Backups are written as complete snapshots and cannot be edited selectively | Overwritten in the normal backup cycle, within [BACKUP_RETENTION_PERIOD]; restored data is re-deleted |
If you would like to know exactly what has been retained in your case, ask privacy@fafo-trust.com and we will tell you.
How long it takes
| Stage | Timing |
|---|---|
| Acknowledgement of your request | Within 5 business days |
| Listings and profile removed from public view | Immediately on confirmation |
| Sessions revoked and sign-out everywhere | Immediately on confirmation |
| Grace period, during which the request can be cancelled | [ACCOUNT_GRACE_PERIOD, e.g. 30 days] |
| Deletion from live systems completed | Within one month of a confirmed request |
| Deletion propagated through backups | Within [BACKUP_RETENTION_PERIOD] |
If your request is complex, we may extend the one-month period by up to two further months. We will tell you within the first month, and explain why.
Cancelling the request
During the grace period you can stop the deletion by signing in again, or by replying to the confirmation email. After the grace period ends, the deletion is final and your data cannot be recovered.
Download your data first
You may want a copy before everything goes. Under your right to data portability you can ask for the data you provided in a structured, machine-readable format.
Request it from privacy@fafo-trust.com before you confirm deletion — once the data is gone we cannot produce it.
Deleting a dealership account
If your Account manages a dealership, please note:
- Deleting it removes the dealership profile and its listings;
- Where other people have access to the same dealership, we may ask you to confirm who is authorised to request the deletion;
- Invoices and accounting records relating to paid services are retained for the statutory period;
- If you want to keep the dealership but hand it to a colleague, contact support@fafo-trust.com instead — a transfer is usually the better option.
If you are not satisfied
If you believe we have not handled your request properly, please tell us first at privacy@fafo-trust.com so that we can put it right.
You also have the right to lodge a complaint with a data protection supervisory authority — in the EEA, the authority in the country where you live, where you work, or where you believe the infringement occurred.
Contact
| Purpose | |
|---|---|
| Deletion and all privacy requests | privacy@fafo-trust.com |
| Help with your Account | support@fafo-trust.com |
FAFO
[COMPANY_LEGAL_NAME]
[REGISTERED_ADDRESS]
Website: fafo-trust.com
In-app summary
The condensed version, for the Account settings screen.
Delete my account
Deleting your account permanently removes your profile, your listings and photographs, your saved vehicles and searches, and your messages. Your listings disappear from search immediately, and you are signed out on every device.
You have [ACCOUNT_GRACE_PERIOD] to change your mind. After that, deletion is final and cannot be undone.
We keep a small amount of data where the law requires it — for example accounting records for paid services, and records relating to fraud or abuse. Full detail is on our Delete My Account page.
Want a copy of your data first? Request it before you continue.
[ Download my data ] [ Delete my account ]
Questions: privacy@fafo-trust.com