How to delete your Fish For Singles account

Step 1: Cancel your membership

If you have a paid membership or trial, cancel it before you do anything else. Memberships renew automatically, so deleting your account without cancelling risks leaving a payment running.

1. Log in at the members area.
2. Go to Settings > Billing.
3. Cancel your membership and check for confirmation on screen. A screenshot is a good idea.

If you only have a free account, there's nothing to cancel: skip to step 2.

Step 2: Delete your account

Once nothing is due to renew, deleting takes a minute from your profile settings.

1. Click your avatar (your profile picture).
2. Open Settings.
3. Choose Delete Account and confirm.

Cancelling and deleting are not the same thing

Cancelling stops future payments; deleting removes your account. You usually want both, in that order, but they do different jobs.

Before you go

A few minutes of tidying up now saves a surprise later.

• Save anything you want to keep. Copy contact details for anyone you're still talking to, if you've both agreed to swap them.
• Check your statement for a final charge under the billing name shown at checkout, and contact the help centre if anything looks wrong.
• Check refund rules if you've just paid. Under the members area terms, refunds are pro-rata and only when at least 40% of the period is unused. See billing, cancelling and refunds.
• Report anyone who worried you. Once your account is gone, it's harder to point to the conversation.

If you're charged after cancelling

Contact the members help centre first, with the date, the amount and the billing name exactly as it appears on your statement. It's worth checking whether the charge is dated before you cancelled, or belongs to a second account you'd forgotten about.

If it isn't sorted out, contact your bank or card provider and explain that you cancelled; keep your screenshot of the cancellation. In the UK, Citizens Advice explains your options when a business won't resolve a payment problem. Our account help page covers renewals in more detail.

If you can't log in

Reset your password from the login page. If that doesn't work, contact the members help centre from the email address you signed up with and ask them to cancel your membership and delete your account. Our log-in help page covers the common snags, such as signing up with a different email address than you remember.

Your data and your rights

Deleting your account removes your profile; you also have legal rights over the personal data held about you. In the UK, the right to erasure (sometimes called the right to be forgotten) lets you ask an organisation to delete your personal data. According to the Information Commissioner's Office, the organisation normally has one calendar month to respond, can extend that by up to two further months if it tells you why, and can refuse in some cases, for example where the law requires it to keep records.

To make a request, contact the members help centre and say clearly that you want your personal data erased. The privacy policy for the members area explains what is held and why.

If you've joined more than once

If you've ever signed up with a different email address, you may have a second account, and possibly a second membership. Try logging in with any other address you use, and cancel and delete each account you find. If you can't get into one, the help centre can look it up from the email address.

A note on the partner network

Fish For Singles shares one member database with partner sites in the same network, which is why members of those sites could see your profile. If you're unsure whether your profile has gone everywhere, ask the help centre to confirm.

If you're leaving because of a scam or harassment

Report before you delete, because the conversation is your evidence. Take screenshots of the profile and messages, including the username, then report the member to the members help centre.

If you've sent money or shared bank details, call your bank straight away. Then report it: Report Fraud covers England, Wales and Northern Ireland (reportfraud.police.uk or 0300 123 2040), Police Scotland takes reports on 101, and in the US the Federal Trade Commission takes reports at ReportFraud.ftc.gov. If you feel in danger, call 999 in the UK or 911 in the US.

Changed your mind?

If you just want a break rather than leaving for good, cancelling your membership is often enough, and your profile will be there when you come back. If you're leaving because of a bad experience with another member, please report it first; our safety page explains how, and how to spot a romance scam explains what to do if money was involved.