This page describes how Hearthwrite handles account data when you pause or leave. It is product documentation for members — not legal advice. We may update it as features change.
Your account
Signed-in members can manage email, password, profile visibility, content filters, notifications, and data exports from Settings.
Pause
Pause keeps your account and published stories online while reducing discovery promotion and digest-style outreach until you return. You can unpause from Settings → Data & safety.
Leaving Hearthwrite (account deletion)
Self-serve account deletion includes a cool-off period of about 14 days so you can cancel if you change your mind. Admins cannot use the self-serve leave flow.
Before deletion runs, authors choose what happens to their writing:
- Keep stories up (recommended) — published stories and chapters stay available for readers. Ownership is reassigned to a system byline labeled Former author. Bookmarks and reading progress remain. We may retain orphan metadata (for example, when the account left) for abuse review and reader continuity.
- Unpublish everything — your stories and chapters are set to draft (leave public view) before the account is removed.
After cool-off, the WordPress user account is deleted. Some operational records (such as account audit rows and orphaned-story metadata) may be retained as described above.
Step-by-step member guidance: Pause or Leave in the Guidebook.
Profile privacy and content filters
Separate from this policy page, members can control who sees their profile and what Explore suggests for mature or adult titles. See Privacy & Content Filters.
Questions
For account or data questions, use site contact / support channels listed in the footer or Guidebook.