Delete your data

How to remove your data from Rihla — and what gets removed.

Rihla starts with an anonymous session created on your device. If you linked an email for recovery, that email is attached to the same Firebase user. You can delete everything yourself from inside the app — there is a Delete account button that removes your account and its backend data immediately, with no waiting period and no request form.

This action is permanent. Deleted data cannot be restored. If you are part of a shared group, your group members will lose visibility into expenses you added once your records are scrubbed.

1. Delete local data (you can do this yourself)

Uninstalling the Rihla app removes everything stored locally on your device — the offline cache, your anonymous session, and the device name you saved in app settings. On Android: long-press the app icon → Uninstall. On iOS: long-press the app icon → Remove App → Delete App.

If you reinstall the app afterwards, you will start with a fresh anonymous session and will not see your previous groups unless you restore with a linked recovery email.

2. Delete your account and backend data (in the app)

This is the primary way to delete your data, and you can do it yourself in seconds:

Open Rihla and go to your Profile (the profile tab).
Scroll to the Account section.
Tap Delete account.
Confirm in the dialog.

Deletion runs on our backend right away: your account is removed, your linked recovery email (if any) is released so it can be reused, your identity is scrubbed from every group you belong to, and you are signed out. There is no manual review and no waiting period. If the deletion is interrupted (for example, you go offline mid-way), the app detects the unfinished deletion the next time and offers to complete it, and a server-side backstop finishes any deletion that was left incomplete.

If you can no longer open the app

Because Rihla identifies you through your device session, deleting from inside the app is by far the most reliable route. If you have lost access to your device and cannot use the in-app button, email us at nasserbusaidi@gmail.com (subject Rihla data deletion request) with the display name(s) you used and any group invite code(s) or expense details that help us locate your records, and we will remove them for you.

What we delete

Your linked recovery email, if one is attached to your Firebase user.
Your push-notification token from our backend.
Your membership in every group you belong to (in-app deletion covers all of them; an email request covers the groups you identify).
Your display name from those groups' participant lists. Existing expenses that reference your participant ID are scrubbed so other members no longer see your name attached to them.
Any receipt photos you uploaded.

What we keep

The bare existence of an expense in the group ledger may remain so the other members' balances stay correct — your name is removed, but the amount that was split is not retroactively erased from their history.
Crash and error reports captured by Sentry. These do not contain your display name or group data and are deleted on Sentry's default retention schedule.

How long this takes

In-app deletion is immediate — your account and backend data are removed as soon as you confirm. If you had to email us because you can no longer open the app, we process the request as quickly as we can and reply to the address you wrote in from once it is complete.

Questions

Email nasserbusaidi@gmail.com.