How to delete your CircleCI account

About deleting your CircleCI account

CircleCI is a powerful continuous integration and continuous delivery (CI/CD) platform that automates the building, testing, and deployment of software projects. By connecting to version control systems like GitHub or Bitbucket, CircleCI processes sensitive source code, environment variables, and build artifacts to streamline developer workflows. Deleting your account is a critical step for teams moving to different automation tools or developers looking to minimize their digital footprint.

Users may choose to delete their CircleCI account for several specific reasons:

• Transitioning to a different CI/CD provider like GitHub Actions or GitLab CI.
• Concerns regarding the handling of long-lived API tokens and secret environment variables connected to their source code repositories.
• Reducing the risk associated with historical build logs, which might inadvertently contain sensitive metadata or dependency information.
• Finalizing a project lifecycle where the associated build infrastructure is no longer needed.

What happens to your data

When you initiate the deletion process for your CircleCI account, the platform attempts to purge your personal user profile and specific workspace data. However, due to the nature of distributed build logs and shared repository artifacts, it is essential to understand the scope of this action:

• Profile Information: CircleCI removes your user profile, including your email address, associated identity provider linkages (e.g., GitHub, Bitbucket), and authentication tokens.
• Build History: Your personal build history and trigger metadata within the CircleCI dashboard are queued for removal, though cached build artifacts or logs stored in secondary, connected infrastructure might require manual cleanup.
• Retained Data: CircleCI may retain certain log data for security auditing or financial accounting purposes, particularly if you have active billing history or enterprise compliance requirements.
• Project Links: Note that deleting your account removes your access, but repositories linked to the project may require separate administrative cleanup within your version control provider to fully revoke CircleCI's OAuth permissions.

Privacy considerations

Using a CI/CD platform like CircleCI involves granting it significant permissions over your source code and infrastructure. Protecting your privacy involves more than just account deletion; it requires careful management of the connections you establish.

• Audit OAuth Permissions: Before deleting your account, visit your GitHub or Bitbucket settings to revoke the CircleCI OAuth application access to ensure no further handshake remains.
• Secret Management: Ensure all sensitive keys, tokens, and passwords stored in CircleCI Project Settings or Contexts are rotated if you suspect they have been compromised.
• Infrastructure Links: If you have configured CircleCI runners on your own hardware or cloud VPCs, ensure those runners are decommissioned or re-provisioned to clear any environment state.
• Log Scrubbing: Always review build logs before deletion to ensure no hardcoded secrets were accidentally exposed during the CI process.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does deleting my CircleCI account remove my source code from GitHub?

No, deleting your CircleCI account only removes your profile and configuration within the CircleCI platform. It does not affect the actual code residing in your GitHub repositories.

Will my billing history be deleted immediately?

CircleCI retains transactional records for tax and legal compliance, meaning your billing history may be preserved in the platform's backend for a specific retention period even after account closure.

Do I need to remove CircleCI from my GitHub app settings?

Yes, it is highly recommended to visit your GitHub App settings and revoke the CircleCI integration access to ensure a complete severance of permissions.

Can I recover my data after deleting my account?

Generally, no. Once the account deletion process is finalized, user profile data and personal workspace configurations are permanently scrubbed, and recovery is not possible.

Does CircleCI share my build data with third parties?

CircleCI uses data primarily for service operation. However, they may share aggregated, non-identifiable usage patterns with third-party service providers, as outlined in their privacy policy.

What happens to my environment variables?

Upon deletion, the encrypted environment variables stored within CircleCI contexts are marked for destruction, but you should manually clear these in your project settings prior to deletion as a best practice.