How to delete your Ostara account and data
Last updated: 06/06/2026
Overview
Ostara is a B2B platform used by ecology consultancies to schedule, conduct, and report on field surveys. Most accounts are created by an Ostara administrator on behalf of a surveyor or client. You can request that we delete your account and the personal data associated with it at any time.
We aim to complete deletion within 30 days of receiving a verified request, in line with UK GDPR Article 17.
How to request deletion
Email support@ostara.eco with the subject "Account deletion request".
Send the request from the email address associated with your Ostara account so we can verify your identity. If you cannot send from that address, include enough other identifying information for us to verify the request (for example, the name of the organisation that uses Ostara, the date your account was created, or any surveys you have contributed to).
We may ask follow-up questions before processing the request — for example, to confirm whether you want associated survey records anonymised rather than deleted, or to clarify whether other users in the same organisation should keep the data you contributed jointly.
What we delete
When we process a verified deletion request, the following are removed:
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Your Firebase Authentication account (email, sign-in credentials)
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Your user profile in Ostara (name, contact details, role, preferences)
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Your draft surveys that have not yet been delivered to a client
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Photos and voice notes you uploaded that are not part of a finalised, client-delivered survey
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Your local offline cache on any device where you sign out
What we keep, and for how long
Some data is retained even after account deletion — either because we are legally required to keep it, because it forms part of a deliverable owned by a client, or because it is needed to maintain the integrity of audit and security records.
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Survey findings delivered to a client — kept typically 7 years from delivery. Reason: ecology consultancy professional standards (CIEEM Code of Professional Conduct) and contractual obligations between Ostara's customers and their end clients. Where possible, the surveyor identifier is anonymised.
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Audit and security event logs — kept 400 days from the event. Reason: forensic-trail requirement under UK GDPR Article 32 (security of processing).
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Financial records linked to your account — kept 6 years from the end of the tax year. Reason: UK statutory requirement (Companies Act 2006 section 388; HMRC).
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Anonymised aggregate analytics — kept indefinitely. Once data is irreversibly anonymised it falls outside UK GDPR.
If you want a more detailed retention breakdown for a specific data category, ask in your deletion request and we will provide it.
Partial deletion
If you want some of your data deleted but not your account itself (for example, removing voice notes you uploaded while keeping your account active for ongoing surveys), email support@ostara.eco describing what you want removed. We do not currently offer a self-service in-app partial-deletion flow.
How we confirm deletion
Once your request is processed, we will email a confirmation to the address we verified you from, listing what was deleted, what was retained, and the retention period for any retained items. If we cannot honour the request (for example, because a contractual or legal retention obligation applies to all of your data), we will explain why.
Your other UK GDPR rights
This page covers deletion specifically. You also have rights to access, rectify, restrict, port, and object to the processing of your personal data. Email support@ostara.eco with the relevant request. See our Privacy Policy for the full set.
Questions
Email support@ostara.eco for anything related to account deletion or data handling.