Self-service account deactivation: why it’s harder than you would think

Summary

Fly.io introduces a self-service UI for deactivating accounts, replacing the previous requirement to email support. The difficulty is preventing a “delete everything” action from accidentally destroying infrastructure, because users may own apps, share organizations, and administer shared applications. The workflow first addresses app deletion and resource cleanup, then points migrating users toward certificate and DNS changes, while reminding organization administrators to delete or transfer organizations. Rather than embedding every task in one action, the UI guides users to the relevant pages and usually requires deleting only the apps they own. Automatic deactivation still cannot handle accounts involved in shared organizations or organizations administered for others; those cases require help, and the UI identifies the blocking organization step.

Takeaways

1. 1

   Deleting an account removes its apps permanently and reclaims the resources allocated to them.

2. 2

   Users migrating away may need to update DNS records after changing certificate and domain configuration.

3. 3

   Accounts involved in shared organizations or organizations administered for others still require assistance to deactivate.