ConsultEarth offers a self-serve data export and a self-serve deletion request from the Settings page. Both are intentionally simple. For anything broader than the self-serve export (for example, a complete Subject Access Request under UK GDPR), users can email the privacy contact for the full record.
Downloading account data from Settings
The Settings page at /settings has a "Download Your Data" action that produces a JSON file with the most-asked-for fields, generated on the fly in the browser.
For an expert account, the file contains:
- The expert profile
- All job applications the expert submitted
- All messages the expert sent
For a client account, the file contains:
- The client profile
- All jobs the client posted
- All messages the client sent
The file is named consultearth-data-YYYY-MM-DD.json and downloads immediately.
This export is deliberately scoped to the most common asks. Received messages, ledger entries, advisory call records, and other surrounding data are not included. For a complete record, see the next section.
Asking for a full Subject Access Request
For a complete copy of all personal data held about an account (the right of access under UK GDPR Article 15), users can email the privacy contact at privacy@consultearth.com.
The request should include the account email and a brief statement of what is being asked for. The response is sent within one month of a verified request, as required by UK GDPR Article 12. Complex requests may be extended once, by up to two further months, with notice.
The full SAR includes everything in the self-serve export plus messages received, ledger and token movement, advisory call records, application status history, notification history, and any internal notes held about the account.
Deleting an account
The Settings page also offers an account deletion action. Confirming the action submits a tracked deletion request and signs the account out across all devices.
What happens then:
- Immediately, open commitments that carry no contractual obligation are cancelled: open job applications are withdrawn, open job posts are closed, open service inquiries are declined, and any future advisory-call bookings are cancelled and refunded in full.
- Active engagements already under way are not cancelled. They stay open so the other party can complete or formally close the work; that party is notified that the account is being closed.
- Within one month, personal identifiers are anonymised: the name and contact details on the platform are replaced with "[deleted user]", profile fields are cleared, and the content of messages the user sent is redacted. This runs automatically and completes at the latest one month after the request, even if an engagement is still open.
Account deletion is irreversible once anonymisation has run. If the request is submitted by accident, the account holder can email privacy@consultearth.com before that point to ask that the request be cancelled.
What is retained after deletion, and why
A small amount of data is retained after deletion for legal and operational reasons:
- Financial records. Invoices, payments, refunds, and tax-relevant transaction history are retained for six years to satisfy HMRC record-keeping requirements.
- Messaging history seen by other users. Messages already delivered to other accounts remain in those accounts' inboxes, since they are part of the other user's record of the conversation. The deleted user's name on those messages is replaced.
- Audit and abuse records. Where an account has been involved in a moderation action, dispute, or chargeback, the relevant record is retained until the matter is fully closed.
- Aggregated, non-identifying analytics. Counts and timestamps that do not identify the user remain in analytics datasets.
Everything else (the profile, work history, education, application content the user authored, advisory call calendar entries, saved searches, ledger detail, and notification history attached to the deleted user) is removed.
Right to object, restrict, or rectify
Under UK GDPR, account holders also have the right to ask for inaccurate data to be corrected, to restrict certain processing, and to object to processing in some circumstances. These are not self-serve in the app today and should be raised by email to privacy@consultearth.com.
Related
- Login and signup troubleshooting: /help/login-and-signup
- Refund policy: /help/refund-policy
- What our AI features do with your data: /help/ai-features