Why were all my notes deleted? My account was deactivated and wiped by Evernote

[DisgruntledTurtle 1]

Hi all, 

I have used Evernote on and off for around 10 years, but recently it seems like all my notes have been deleted and my account has been wiped. How can I recover my notes which had important information in there?

Thank you.

[gazumped 11,689]

Hi.  How do you know your account has been deleted and wiped?  What emails have you received / error messages have you seen?  Have you tried the 'forgot password' link from Evernote.com?

[t_h_wolf 0]

I've also tried to access an older Evernote account and am looking for only one note.  I have tried resetting passwords, but I cannot find my old notes.  I've used all email addresses I've ever had to no avail.

[DisgruntledTurtle 1]

I know it was wiped because when I logged in, it made me reactivate my account. I had no warning that my account was deactivated. How can I contact someone at Evernote? I am also seeking legal advice since I am unable to retrieve important information that was only stored on there.

[agsteele 2,952]

The best option would be to open a support ticket for Account category https://help.evernote.com/hc/en-us/requests/new?guest=true

 

[DisgruntledTurtle 1]

Its pretty terrible that I would have to pay for that...

[s2sailor 2,217]

2 minutes ago, DisgruntledTurtle said:

Its pretty terrible that I would have to pay for that...

Why?  I'm pretty sure the support folks aren't working for free.

[agsteele 2,952]

No, access as a GUEST via the link provided and choose My Account (Not Technical Issues).  This is free for all users.

On the other hand relying on a limited free service for essential work may not always be the best thing.  I like to view a Free account as lacking Technical Support and that means you opted to pay for support when I need it.  But for Account issues support is free.

[Boot17 1,462]

On 10/10/2023 at 7:46 AM, DisgruntledTurtle said:

I have used Evernote on and off for around 10 years, but recently it seems like all my notes have been deleted and my account has been wiped. How can I recover my notes which had important information in there?

Sounds to me like you've misplaced your account info.

49 minutes ago, DisgruntledTurtle said:

I know it was wiped because when I logged in, it made me reactivate my account

Sounds like you created a new (and empty) account.

49 minutes ago, DisgruntledTurtle said:

I am also seeking legal advice since[...]

Ah - the nuclear option.

26 minutes ago, DisgruntledTurtle said:

Its pretty terrible that I would have to pay for that...

You'll pay for legal advice to sue the people that are offering you a product for free because you have mixed up your account information?

[DisgruntledTurtle 1]

Thank you agsteele. I have submitted it using your GUEST link which worked. 

Boot17, I haven't misplaced my details at all. Evernote shows the account was created in 2016.

I don't need additional technical support, I just need my content to not be interfered with or deleted. My account was active, I wasn't informed that it was at risk of being wiped, I'll consider paying for it if my content is restored. 

[PinkElephant 8,154]

Just out of curiosity: For how long didn’t you access your account before you now tried it again ?

I wouldn’t expect a Free service to keep my data immediately available 24/7, on a fingersnip. This stuff costs money to operate, you know.

When an account is deactivated, it can‘t be accessed right away. It needs to be reactivated, which (probably) moves the accounts data from a remote storage back to the active server. Remote storage is a lot cheaper, but can’t  be accessed online. There is a help article about how to reactivate:

https://help.evernote.com/hc/en-us/articles/360048593674

To me it seems you were advised to do exactly this, reactivate your account to access it again.

[DisgruntledTurtle 1]

I'm not sure why you are so quick to blame me and defend this company. I still haven't received a response for the request that I made using the link that was provided above.

Btw, I myself have been a developer and now manage projects in software product delivery, this would never fly for a responsible company. On what planet is it acceptable to put a product out there (free, or paid) and then lose a user's data without any warning. I already did mention this, but I'd expect an email or two that warns the user that their account is going to be wiped - my account wasn't even inactive for a long period of time and I can't find anywhere in Evernote's documentation any reference to why this would even happen. 

This is poor, no matter how you frame it. I know very well it costs money to operate, but no one told me that my data was at risk when I created a free account back in 2016, those weren't the terms and the free service was perfectly acceptable for me. 

[PinkElephant 8,154]

Did you follow the advise or not ?

The rest is your opinion, and that’s it.

[DisgruntledTurtle 1]

Yes, I already explained. I went to log in one day, it prompted me to reactivate the account. Once I did that, it appeared to be a fresh account with no history of any of my notes. The only thing that confirms that its my account is that it shows the account was created in 2016.

I also submitted a support ticket 5 days ago which was advised, I haven't had a response to that. 

[Boot17 1,462]

I've been frequenting the forum a lot over the last few years. During that time, I don't think I can ever recall a single mentioned instance where Evernote deactivated a users account and deleted their data. The help article that PinkElephant linked earlier has a link to the "Deactivate your Evernote account" help article that indicates that a user can deactivate their account but it doesn't say that Evernote will deactivate accounts and then delete notes. (At least from anything I've ever seen -- does anyone have more information or seen anything where Evernote has said they deactivate old accounts and/or delete data on old accounts?) However, time and time again we have seen that users accidentally create a new account or had multiple accounts without realizing it, wondering where there notes are.

Just because you are now logged into an account that is showing that it was created in 2016 doesn't mean that this is the same account that had your notes in it. Since you said yourself that you use Evernote off and on, to me it sounds like account mixup is plausible. Perhaps Evernote just up and deactivated your account and deleted your data, but I'm thinking they did not and/or there are other factors at play.

I'd be really interested if/when this finally gets all straightened out, if you'd be willing to report what happened. Usually, we never hear back from people with duplicate account issues (because it's probably embarrassing when they finally realize what happened? -- and cause they were never active in the forum before hand either).

But who knows, your case may be a case of Evernote actually deactivating a user account and deleting data for whatever reason...

[DisgruntledTurtle 1]

I am certain that its not the case, but to be extra sure, I have done a "forgot password" for every email address I have - none of which resulted with a reset link being sent to my inbox, so I don't think I've had multiple accounts. 

I absolutely plan to share what happens, but at this point I have very little faith that anything will happen at all. 

[gazumped 11,689]

24 minutes ago, Boot17 said:

does anyone have more information

I believe Evernote does move long-unused accounts to archive storage.  The owner is always notified,  and of course is told that the account needs to be reactivated if/ when they come back to access it.  Evernote does not 'wipe' contents and the reactivation process should be a simple one.  However it is possible to set up a new blank account rather easily - check that you are using the correct login.  Evernote.com has a 'forgot password' process that may help - provided you still use the email address from the original account.

The Forums here are mostly other users,  and the only source of help on password matters is Support.  Support is rather busy at the moment - we're seeing 8-10 day waits for a reaction;  but the OP should at least have received a ticket number to register a place in the queue.  

[inachisio 0]

I've experienced exactly the same issue as DisgruntledTurtle. Have been a user since 2011 and use the regularly. In fact was at a conference taking notes just yesterday morning. Then, without warning, I'm logged out and had to do a password reset. When I log back in, there's nothing showing. Apparently, my last note was in 2017! Will be entering a support ticket myself but will be interested to hear if DisgruntledTurtle receives a response. Also, am curious to know if anyone else has experienced this problem. 

I understand the need for apps to make money but burning / ransoming user data is a poor way to go about it.

[agsteele 2,952]

Have you tried access via the web browser client? If all your notes are present there then nothing is lost. Then rebuilding your local data may be the resolution.