Is MFP Continually Deleting My Data?

drtrmiller
drtrmiller Posts: 3 Member
in Chit-Chat
I have been a daily user and paid, Premium member of MFP since 2016. I contacted MFP last year related to a few weeks from 2016 that were missing from my file export and online diary. After several back-and-forth replies, MFP acknowledged the problem and said they would fix the issue.

Today, I have no diary entries on my account from before Jan 1, 2018. I started MFP and rely on the diary for analyzing and understanding health impacts of long-term dietary changes. It is unfathomable that MFP would be deleting my data as part of a maintenance schedule, which can't amount to more than a few megabytes.

Can any other long-term users confirm what is the earliest date in your diary entries, and are you a paid or free customer?

If this cannot be resolved, I can no longer rely on MFP and will need to find an alternative. It is asinine to pour hours into maintaining my diary each year, only to have it deleted after 3-4 years.

Replies

  • GymGoddessGoals
    GymGoddessGoals Posts: 2,146 Member
    So they should your data for eternity? Maybe a resolution would be to export your data on a more regular basis. I would also check your terms and conditions, there may be a clause about your data storage. Best of luck.
  • drtrmiller
    drtrmiller Posts: 3 Member
    GymGoddessGoals wrote: »
    So they should your data for eternity? Maybe a resolution would be to export your data on a more regular basis. I would also check your terms and conditions, there may be a clause about your data storage. Best of luck.

    MFP should store customer data for a reasonable period of time. It is completely within reason and standard industry practice to store data indefinitely for active users, and delete data for users who have been inactive for a long period of time, typically several years without a login.

    Exporting only produces a file that aggregates the macro-nutrient composition of each "meal." It is not a solution.

    The MFP TOS are absolute anti-consumer garbage. There is no legal remedy and support is worthless in my experience.

    I will likely need to switch to a platform that does allow for more detailed exporting so I can maintain the data accordingly.
  • 39flavours
    39flavours Posts: 1,494 Member
    I joined under this username in 2013, my diary shows logged exercise back to 2015 but only shows logged food back to 2017. There have been years when I haven't used mfp but that's all I can find
  • drtrmiller
    drtrmiller Posts: 3 Member
    39flavours wrote: »
    I joined under this username in 2013, my diary shows logged exercise back to 2015 but only shows logged food back to 2017. There have been years when I haven't used mfp but that's all I can find

    Thanks, this is helpful. I am wondering if the deleted data is caused by switching devices. The way MFP synchronizes data, I can imagine a scenario in which a bug causes data to be deleted at some point when the user switches to a new device.

    If you happen to have any insight on whether you changed the device that you used to enter diary entires on or around the time the data was deleted, that would be extra helpful.
  • GymGoddessGoals
    GymGoddessGoals Posts: 2,146 Member
    MFP also at one point was sold off. I can't remember who owns it now but it's not UA as of a few years ago. So you may have lost data during that switch over as well.
  • 39flavours
    39flavours Posts: 1,494 Member
    drtrmiller wrote: »
    39flavours wrote: »
    I joined under this username in 2013, my diary shows logged exercise back to 2015 but only shows logged food back to 2017. There have been years when I haven't used mfp but that's all I can find

    Thanks, this is helpful. I am wondering if the deleted data is caused by switching devices. The way MFP synchronizes data, I can imagine a scenario in which a bug causes data to be deleted at some point when the user switches to a new device.

    If you happen to have any insight on whether you changed the device that you used to enter diary entires on or around the time the data was deleted, that would be extra helpful.

    No I don't think so, I had a new phone in 2015, 2018 and just recently last month.

Categories