3 ms·

You can't. There's also no easy way to request all profile data deletion, unfortunately. However, they do respond to privacy requests, see: https://news.ycomb

You can't. There's also no easy way to request all profile data deletion, unfortunately. However, they do respond to privacy requests, see: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=26959559 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=26959559 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=26410165 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=26410165

capableweb 5y ago
Have you tried emailing hn@ycombinator.com and it got denied? Or what you mean there is no easy way to request the data deletion? AFAIK they don't scrub the comments but if you request it, your username will be replaced with [deleted] for all your comments.
- murphy1312 5y ago
  that is by no means an easy way. easy would be a button on the profile page for example.
  - capableweb 5y ago
    Ah well, I guess "easy" is relative. I'm sure if you send them one email, they'll confirm it with you once within a month and then delete the data. Compare that to Coinbase, which has forms, buttons and seems it's mostly an automated process instead of manual email, but I've tried getting Coinbase to delete my account + data for over 6 months now to no avail, multiple emails back and forward where they confirm the deletion, say it's in progress, I email back after a month and they ask me to confirm the deletion again. So even with a button, doesn't mean the process is easy, and there is also a lot more to consider than just how you initially the request.
    - newswasboring 5y ago
      I have sent such emails for a previous account, the emails were ignored.
    - hungryforcodes 5y ago
      Mind you, Coinbase probably has an obligation to keep your data for x number of years for both tax and auditing purposes.
    - Buttons840 5y ago
      This is such a grey area. Do emails others sent to me belong to them? Do my HN comments make the entire conversation partially mine? If one of my comments is "well said", and the parent deletes their comment, is not my comment diminished? What do we do about quotes? Etc.
      - capableweb 5y ago
        Solved problem already: Hash the username + a salt and change that everywhere. Every comment is from a unique author + the comment body is still there + all the replies are still there but, author name has been removed.
        Buttons840 5y ago
        That's a decent solution. But I think simply replacing the usernames with [deleted] is better. It leaves the comment but detaches the user and breaks the link between all the users comments.
        capableweb 5y ago
        It becomes very hard to track conversations with N+2 users though, if more than one has the [deleted] username. Hence the hashing to get a unique [deleted] username for each user.
        kuschku 5y ago
        That's not legal either. If the comment body contains personal information anywhere, GDPR also applies to it.
- kjakm 5y ago
  I remember trying that with an old account a few years ago (suggesting your solution of just hiding the username) and was denied. Maybe things have changed since then though.

capableweb 5y ago

Have you tried emailing hn@ycombinator.com and it got denied? Or what you mean there is no easy way to request the data deletion? AFAIK they don't scrub the comments but if you request it, your username will be replaced with [deleted] for all your comments.

murphy1312 5y ago
that is by no means an easy way. easy would be a button on the profile page for example.
- capableweb 5y ago
  Ah well, I guess "easy" is relative. I'm sure if you send them one email, they'll confirm it with you once within a month and then delete the data. Compare that to Coinbase, which has forms, buttons and seems it's mostly an automated process instead of manual email, but I've tried getting Coinbase to delete my account + data for over 6 months now to no avail, multiple emails back and forward where they confirm the deletion, say it's in progress, I email back after a month and they ask me to confirm the deletion again. So even with a button, doesn't mean the process is easy, and there is also a lot more to consider than just how you initially the request.
  - newswasboring 5y ago
    I have sent such emails for a previous account, the emails were ignored.
  - hungryforcodes 5y ago
    Mind you, Coinbase probably has an obligation to keep your data for x number of years for both tax and auditing purposes.
  - Buttons840 5y ago
    This is such a grey area. Do emails others sent to me belong to them? Do my HN comments make the entire conversation partially mine? If one of my comments is "well said", and the parent deletes their comment, is not my comment diminished? What do we do about quotes? Etc.
    - capableweb 5y ago
      Solved problem already: Hash the username + a salt and change that everywhere. Every comment is from a unique author + the comment body is still there + all the replies are still there but, author name has been removed.
      - Buttons840 5y ago
        That's a decent solution. But I think simply replacing the usernames with [deleted] is better. It leaves the comment but detaches the user and breaks the link between all the users comments.
        capableweb 5y ago
        It becomes very hard to track conversations with N+2 users though, if more than one has the [deleted] username. Hence the hashing to get a unique [deleted] username for each user.
      - kuschku 5y ago
        That's not legal either. If the comment body contains personal information anywhere, GDPR also applies to it.
kjakm 5y ago
I remember trying that with an old account a few years ago (suggesting your solution of just hiding the username) and was denied. Maybe things have changed since then though.