Your data is yours. Couchsurfing is committed to protecting your personal information and complying with GDPR and data protection requirements. You have several tools in Settings to manage your data, control who sees your profile, and request a copy of everything we hold on you.
What Data Rights Do I Have?
As a Couchsurfing member, you can:
- Export your personal data at any time
- Control your profile visibility through Privacy Settings
- Deactivate your account to temporarily hide your profile
- Delete your account to permanently remove your personal data
All of these options live in Settings.
How Do I Export My Data?
You can request a copy of your personal data any time from Settings. Your export will include your profile information and all of your photos.
On mobile:
- Tap Library
in the bottom navigation bar
- Tap your profile
in the upper right corner
- Tap Settings
- Tap Export Data
- Follow the onscreen prompts to confirm your request
On the web:
- Click your profile
- Click Settings
in the upper right corner
- Click Export Data
- Follow the onscreen prompts to confirm your request
Once submitted, your export may take up to 48 hours to process. You'll get an email with a download link when it's ready. You can request an export once every 30 days.
How Do I Control Who Sees My Profile?
You have two privacy toggles in Settings → Privacy Settings:
- View My Profile: when enabled, only logged-in members can view your profile
- Only Show First Name: when enabled, your last name is hidden from your profile
On mobile:
- Tap Library
- Tap your profile
- Tap Settings
- Tap Privacy Settings
- Toggle the options on or off
- Tap Done
On the web:
- Click your profile
- Click Settings
- Click Privacy Settings
- Toggle the options on or off
What Happens If I Delete My Account?
Deleting your account permanently removes your personal data from Couchsurfing. Before you confirm, you'll see a summary of what that means:
- All personal data will be permanently deleted or anonymized
- Your account cannot be restored once deletion is complete
- Memberships are not cancelled automatically and must be managed separately
- This action is final and cannot be undone
Go to Settings → Delete Account, select a reason, and confirm via the email we'll send you. Once confirmed, your account is disabled and deletion begins. Your data will be removed in line with GDPR requirements.
Conversations you were part of will remain visible to other participants, but your name will show as "Deleted Account" and your profile will no longer be accessible.
If there are active Trust and Safety or support cases on your account at the time of deletion, the process may be paused for review.
What About Deactivation?
If you want a break without permanently losing your data, deactivation is the way to go. It temporarily hides your profile, pauses all emails and notifications, and keeps everything intact until you're ready to come back. Just log in to reactivate.
If you stay deactivated for 3 years, your account will be permanently deleted.
Where Can I Find the Privacy Policy?
Head to Settings and scroll to the bottom. Tap or click Privacy Policy to read it in full.
Need more help? Get in touch. You can also reach us anytime through Settings → Contact Support.