Delete LDS Account

Upfont, I will say that I am but a member, but would appreciate some help. I would like to delete my LDS Account. Completely and totally delete it. I downloaded LDS Tools onto my Android tablet and it just let me right in with username and password, no challenge, no code, even though I have authentication set up properly. To be frank, I am appalled and if the Android app just lets me in, I may as well have no authentication at all.

Simply put, I no longer feel secure so I would like to delete my LDS Account. How can I make that happen, as I don't see an option to do that myself? Thank you so much.

michael.crook wrote:Upfont, I will say that I am but a member, but would appreciate some help. I would like to delete my LDS Account. Completely and totally delete it. I downloaded LDS Tools onto my Android tablet and it just let me right in with username and password, no challenge, no code, even though I have authentication set up properly. To be frank, I am appalled and if the Android app just lets me in, I may as well have no authentication at all.

Simply put, I no longer feel secure so I would like to delete my LDS Account. How can I make that happen, as I don't see an option to do that myself? Thank you so much.

Only the Global Service Center can delete an LDS Account; you would need to work with your ward clerk to do that. However, deleting your LDS Account is a huge step; make sure you understand the ramifications before you do that. You would no longer be able to reserve names or print temple cards on FamilySearch; you would not be able to see your ward directory or make donations online or a host of other personal things; there are many callings that you might receive where you would be unable to fulfill your calling without access to Leader and Clerk Resources or other online systems. Before you do that, make sure that you are properly evaluating the security risks you think are so great that you need to take this drastic step.

Back to the security issue that has raised these great concerns: could you please supply some more details? If I understand you correctly, you were indeed required to provide a username and password to get into LDS Tools on your Android tablet, but your concern is that you set up Two Factor Authentication (TFA) on your LDS Account and that was not required for that mobile app. Is that correct? If so, I would say that TFA is indeed helpful, but even if an app doesn't require it, it is far better than "no authentication at all." The way TFA is implemented for LDS may not be exactly what you were expecting. I would highly recommend that you read the Help with Two-step Verification page to see what options you might be overlooking, particularly for mobile devices.

I appreciate the response. I am aware of the consequences of deleting my LDS Account. I no longer do family history because I'm at the point (1400's/1500's) where documentation and proof are suspect at best, so I don't feel that deletion would be a problem as I no longer would be able to be confident about submitting temple names appropriately.

Yes, the problem is that I downloaded a Church app for Android, and it bypassed 2FA. I had no such issues on my Apple devices.

I will contact my branch clerk and get the ball rolling on deletion. Thank you!

michael.crook wrote:Yes, the problem is that I downloaded a Church app for Android, and it bypassed 2FA. I had no such issues on my Apple devices.

LDS Tools for iOS doesn't have two-factor authentication either (unless you're talking about Touch ID or Face ID, which no longer require a password after they're set up, and are arguably less secure than a username and password – which is why a password is required every 30 days). Two-factor authentication is a new technology for the Church (LDS Account didn't support two-factor authentication until recently), so I think it's safe to say that two-factor authentication will be supported everywhere in time.

sbradshaw wrote:

michael.crook wrote:Yes, the problem is that I downloaded a Church app for Android, and it bypassed 2FA. I had no such issues on my Apple devices.

LDS Tools for iOS doesn't have two-factor authentication either (unless you're talking about Touch ID or Face ID, which no longer require a password after they're set up, and are arguably less secure than a username and password – which is why a password is required every 30 days). Two-factor authentication is a new technology for the Church (LDS Account didn't support two-factor authentication until recently), so I think it's safe to say that two-factor authentication will be supported everywhere in time.

Yes, well, 30 days is far too long for my tastes. I understand that it's still an emerging technology for the Church (but commonplace elsewhere), but I can't abide insecure technology. I sent in a request for deletion, so hopefully that'll be carried out soon. I understand everything I'm losing, but it comes at far too steep a price for me. I take my security seriously. Thanks!

michael.crook wrote:Simply put, I no longer feel secure so I would like to delete my LDS Account.

In what way are you not secure? What particular attack are you concerned about that deleting your account would make you more secure?

Keep in mind that others can see your information on their devices. So, if you're concerned about "leakage", I fail to see any significant improvement. If you're concerned about a targeted attack, I'd think you'd be just as secure by not installing any church apps on your phone.

Keep in mind that anyone with access to your MRN and certain date information can re-create the account. Perhaps it would be more secure to leave the account, but have it "locked" so it can't be used. I'd think that would be a better option to explore.

russellhltn wrote:

michael.crook wrote:Simply put, I no longer feel secure so I would like to delete my LDS Account.

In what way are you not secure? What particular attack are you concerned about that deleting your account would make you more secure?

Keep in mind that others can see your information on their devices. So, if you're concerned about "leakage", I fail to see any significant improvement. If you're concerned about a targeted attack, I'd think you'd be just as secure by not installing any church apps on your phone.

Keep in mind that anyone with access to your MRN and certain date information can re-create the account. Perhaps it would be more secure to leave the account, but have it "locked" so it can't be used. I'd think that would be a better option to explore.

If I can just log in with my username and password, even with 2FA enabled, that's not secure. Not at all. This has nothing to do with being fearful of a targeted attack (I'm small potatoes in my branch, I don't have, nor will I ever accept, the level of access that someone would want to hack, but that's not the point!) or anything of that nature.

I understand what you're saying about locking, but I want it deleted altogether. As if I were leaving the Church, which I'm not, although I'll be honest and say if this is going to be a huge issue, then I would consider that as an option. Sadly, but I'd consider nonetheless. That's how strongly I feel about this. It has only to do with wanting a secure footprint on the Internet, which I don't think is too much to ask.

As for my information, I would hope that I would no longer show in the online directory, with my information only accessible to those with LCR/MLS access.

michael.crook wrote:As for my information, I would hope that I would no longer show in the online directory, with my information only accessible to those with LCR/MLS access.

Deleting your LDS Account will not affect that. You will need to go into the Directory and set your visibility to Leaders Only before your LDS Account is deleted, or ask your ward clerk to do it for you afterward.

And we will miss you here at the Forum, as well, when you are no longer able to sign in. Sorry to see you go.

michael.crook wrote:As for my information, I would hope that I would no longer show in the online directory, with my information only accessible to those with LCR/MLS access.

As lajackson indicates, that is a separate setting. If you look in the directory, I'm sure you can see people that don't have an LDS Account. That's why I'm not understanding how deleting your account makes you feel any more secure.

Question: Did you check off “Enable Two-Step Verification to all Church applications”?

According to the Help with Two-Step Verification page, "only LDS Account and a few applications that require Two-Step Verification will use this additional security measure" unless you do that second step. By "LDS Account", I'm pretty sure they're referring to ldsaccount.lds.org, where your account is managed. I highly doubt they're talking about every LDS Account login page. Unless the second step is done, I'd doubt any mobile applications would ask for the second factor.

Looking over the steps for setting up 2FA, it appears you only need 1 Factor - your login. As such, I'd think keeping your account active and locked via 2FA would be more secure than not having one at all. Especially since deleting the account DOESN'T make you disappear from the system. Having your account "frozen" would be better, but not sure about the procedure.

I did in fact enable that option. I did see the disclaimer that some applications are not "configured" to handle 2FA, and that is what's at the root of all this. It's 2018....there's been plenty of time to implement 2FA across all platforms. Those platforms that are not configured pose, the way I see it, a security...let's not say threat.....I'll go with concern.

Over the day I've been thinking about it, and I'm going with deleting the entire account. Others' mileage, as always, may vary.

As lajackson implied, the Church is quickly getting to the point where even the "lowliest" of callings requires some level of access. I have members ask me all the time for calendars, birthday lists, attendance rolls, etc. I am happy to provide those items, but I also train them how to do it for themselves the next time they need such things.
Some training on lds.org, including the Help Center, is only available to those with accounts.

I understand that. But Jesus didn't have an iPhone or a tablet, and His calling went just fine.

**he shoots, he scores, and that's the game**

michael.crook wrote:I understand that. But Jesus didn't have an iPhone or a tablet, and His calling went just fine.

He also wasn't trying to get in a Home Teaching report by the 10th of the month.

russellhltn wrote:

michael.crook wrote:I understand that. But Jesus didn't have an iPhone or a tablet, and His calling went just fine.

He also wasn't trying to get in a Home Teaching report by the 10th of the month.

Touche!

Tenho duas contas LDS, como faço para deletar uma conta e ficar com apenas uma?

michael.crook wrote:I no longer do family history because I'm at the point (1400's/1500's) where documentation and proof are suspect at best, so I don't feel that deletion would be a problem as I no longer would be able to be confident about submitting temple names appropriately.

I would recommend that you review what Church leaders have been saying for the last several years about family history and temple work. If you think the only work to be done is on direct ancestors, then you are missing out on thousands upon thousands of your relatives whom you can find and do temple work for. Not only can you do this, but an apostle of the Lord, Elder Neil L. Andersen, has encouraged us to Find Our Cousins!

I want to delete all my información from this site, Who can help me?

Ppequenia wrote:I want to delete all my información from this site, Who can help me?

Your answer is in the second post in this thread. You will need to contact your ward/branch clerk and they will need to request it from the Global Service Department (GSD). No one in your stake/ward/branch and no one on this forum can do that. Once your clerk contacts the GSD, they can help him understand what steps would be required.

Ppequenia wrote:I want to delete all my información from this site, Who can help me?

It depends on exactly what you mean by "this site". If you're taking about the Directory, you'd have to remove your name from the records of the church. Talk to your bishop about that. You can restrict your information to leaders, but I don't think there's any other way to completely opt-out.

michael.crook wrote:I appreciate the response. I am aware of the consequences of deleting my LDS Account. I no longer do family history because I'm at the point (1400's/1500's) where documentation and proof are suspect at best, so I don't feel that deletion would be a problem as I no longer would be able to be confident about submitting temple names appropriately.

Yes, the problem is that I downloaded a Church app for Android, and it bypassed 2FA. I had no such issues on my Apple devices.

I will contact my branch clerk and get the ball rolling on deletion. Thank you!

I share Michael’s concerns about security issues in FamilySearch. I’ve been extremely concerned about clever “Web-scraper” apps that go through a user’s FamilySearch account and harvest names for ordinances. I have tried to explain this concern to our temple president when I was an ordinance worker, but they seemed not to care.

This thread sure has lived a long time with lots of outdated information in it!

RE: Deleting your own account - Today, you can delete your own account by going to https://account.churchofjesuschrist.org. If you're not a church employee, you'll see "Delete Account" at the bottom of the Personal Information page. When your account is deleted, you will lose access to some church tools and information, such as your unique annotations in Gospel Library and your contributions to the FamilySearch Tree.

RE: App security - Since the Church moved to a Cloud Identity Provider, more and more applications are requiring Two-Step Verification if you've set it up on your account. As time goes on, I'm sure this will continue to increase!

RE: Third-Party FamilySearch apps harvesting names - You actually no longer need these apps. Family Search has this built-in. If you're running to the Temple to do an Ordinance, you just sign in to Family Search and click on "Temple" then "Ordinances Ready". You then select the Ordinance you would like to find names for. It will search your tree for you for names that are ready and need the work done - Super fast and easy!

Thank you for the information — good stuff.

Regarding the “third-party apps harvesting names”: regardless of whether or not “I” wanted or needed the app (I didn’t, but those who wanted the Teflon church experience of going to the temples with a name would), their existence seemed to be a security threat to FamilySearch and the church’s member and leader log-ins at the church itself. And they facilitated that Teflon manner of being dissociated from the person whose name is being used.

como elimino una cuenta para que pueda acceder a mi cuenta original y haci poder tener una sola cuenta de la iglesia

regarding "RE: Deleting your own account - Today, you can delete your own account by going to https://account.churchofjesuschrist.org. If you're not a church employee, you'll see "Delete Account" at the bottom of the Personal Information page."
...I have tried this so many times, different browsers, waited a week in between attempts, and after hitting delete it does *nothing*
any ideas? tips?

Hello,

I had my old LDS account deleted because I thought I won't be able to recover it. I created a new one. Can I use my MRN for the new account?

Hi

I had unknowingly created 2x account for myself. Last couple of weeks or so I had put through tithing under my account. Then when I went to put my husbands tithing in, I noticed that his membership number was on his account. I tried to search and enter my membership number into my account but a message kept popping up saying unable to as this membership number already used. Thats when I clicked I had created 2 accounts. So I went searching for the other one, manage to find it and deleted the other one. However I had already put through tithing in the account I just deleted. so I put through tithing into the current account, thinking that the system will not take money out of the deleted one as it is deleted. I checked my email to my surprise a message to say husbands tithing has been reversed and thats when I knew the money still went out from the deleted account. Can someone help me reverse my tithing from the deleted account.

Much appreicated.

@ Ameliatuiono,
The only people who can possibly help are the support people at the Global Services Department (GSD). Ask your ward clerk to give you the telephone number. Only you can talk to them about your issue. Be sure to have your membership record number (MRN) available to give them. You will also need to have the username and password for the deleted account.

I have two accounts under the one email address and am wondering how to delete one of them so that I can access my records?. Cheers

DarrylH8625 wrote: Mon Jun 12, 2023 9:54 pm I have two accounts under the one email address and am wondering how to delete one of them so that I can access my records?. Cheers

Go to account.churchofjesuschrist.org, log in using the account you want to delete. On the left side, you'll see "Delete Account".

I don't know my membership record number Larry christopher griggs

stars3434 wrote: Tue Jun 13, 2023 1:39 am I don't know my membership record number

If you have Member Tools, you can look it up there. If you're a child still living at home, your parents can look it up. Otherwise, you need to speak to your ward clerk. No one here can get that for you.

Dear brother
In my opinion the Church account is very safe. It now has the option to set up a second line of defence. Each time I log into family search a code is sent to my phone. Without that code you cannot complete log in. It does give me a option to bypass this code being sent for a 30 day period but that option I have to select. If I do not choose to use 30 day option the code sent every time I log in. Without my phone and the code nobody can log into my account. If they had my phone then they probably could. For a person trying to log in using my user name and password they would also need my phone to complete the log in.
No technology is completely secure if you know what you are doing but Family Search and Church account are fairly secure. By hacking a Church account the will not get much info anyway. Not really worth the effort to hack.

KFerguson wrote: Sat Aug 05, 2023 10:26 pm Dear brother
In my opinion the Church account is very safe. It now has the option to set up a second line of defence. Each time I log into family search a code is sent to my phone.
...
By hacking a Church account the will not get much info anyway. Not really worth the effort to hack.

Thanks for the good summary of the benefits of 2FA/MFA relative to Church Accounts. From my personal opinion/experience, here are a couple of other thoughts:

1. In (hopefully) rare instances, breaking into a Church Account could be valuable in giving access to donation history, from which the member's history and pattern of income could be inferred.

2. While sending a verification code to a cell phone can increase security most of the time, in cases where the bad guys REALLY want access, they can call the phone provider, impersonate the owner of the phone, and switch the phone service to a new physical phone. Not many years ago, I read of a case where a person knew he was under attack. Despite his request to the phone provider to NOT transfer his service, they transferred it to the attackers' physical phone. Reportedly, the victim saw his phone display suddenly change to show no service. Then, in a small number of minutes, he saw his account balances at multiple financial institutions abruptly go to zero. (I was not able to find a reference to that article in my bookmarks stash.)