How to delete your DDEV account

About deleting your DDEV account

DDEV is an open-source, local development environment management tool designed to streamline PHP, Node.js, and Python workflows using Docker. Because DDEV functions as a local CLI-based application, it does not rely on a centralized cloud-based account system. All configuration files, database snapshots, and project settings are stored directly on your host machine rather than on a remote server owned by the developers.

Users may choose to remove DDEV for several specific reasons, including:

• Transitioning to a different containerization tool like Lando or native Docker Compose workflows.
• Freeing up disk space by removing associated database volumes and container images.
• Performing a clean system audit to remove unused CLI dependencies.
• Restricting the scope of development tools accessible on a shared workstation.

How to remove DDEV

To effectively remove DDEV, you must uninstall the binary and purge your local directories. Depending on your installation method, you can use commands such as brew uninstall ddev for macOS or standard system package managers for Linux and Windows. Afterward, manually delete the ~/.ddev directory to purge all global configuration data, SSL certificates, and project metadata.

What happens to your data

Because DDEV manages projects locally, "data deletion" is a process of clearing your local storage rather than contacting a service provider to scrub cloud databases. DDEV collects very minimal information, primarily in the form of local configuration files and project logs.

Types of data stored locally by DDEV:

• Local SSL certificates generated for HTTPS support in development environments.
• Project-specific configuration files (config.yaml) that define PHP versions, database types, and web server settings.
• Database snapshots stored within the project’s .ddev/db_snapshots directory.
• Docker container metadata and volume references linked to your projects.

Once you delete the binaries and the ~/.ddev folder, no identifiable project data remains within the tool's control. Since DDEV does not sync your site data to the cloud, you are solely responsible for ensuring that you have manually deleted your project-specific databases and Docker volumes, which can be done via docker volume prune.

Privacy considerations

Unlike SaaS-based development tools, DDEV provides a high degree of privacy because the execution happens entirely offline on your hardware. However, DDEV does include a telemetry feature that reports usage statistics to help the maintainers improve the product. This telemetry is anonymous and is intended to track general platform usage patterns rather than individual user behavior.

Privacy tips for DDEV users:

• Opt-out of telemetry by running ddev config global --telemetry-opt-out=true.
• Regularly clear out old database snapshots to ensure no stale data remains on your drive.
• Use a dedicated Docker context if you need to isolate DDEV's network impact from other services.
• Verify your global configuration file at ~/.ddev/global_config.yaml to ensure no sensitive environment variables are hardcoded.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is there a central DDEV account I need to deactivate?

No, DDEV does not have a centralized user account system. Your usage is entirely local to your device.

Does DDEV send my website code to the cloud?

No, DDEV is a local-first tool. It does not upload your project source code, database contents, or environment secrets to any remote DDEV server.

How do I stop DDEV telemetry?

You can disable anonymous usage reporting by executing the command ddev config global --telemetry-opt-out=true in your terminal.

If I uninstall DDEV, will my project files be deleted?

No, uninstalling the DDEV CLI tool will not delete your project files or your source code. You must manually delete the .ddev folder inside your project directory to remove environment-specific configurations.

Where are DDEV's global configuration files located?

They are typically stored in the ~/.ddev directory on macOS and Linux, or the equivalent user profile path on Windows.

Does DDEV store my passwords?

DDEV does not store your application passwords. It may handle database credentials in local config files, which remain stored on your encrypted local machine.