Deactivating an account actually deletes it — you can't log back in

## What happens The **Deactivate Account** button doesn't do what the confirm dialog promises. The dialog says deactivation is *reversible* — "to reactivate, simply log in again" — but it actually behaves like a permanent delete: after deactivating, you cannot log back in. Subsequent attempts are rejected as if the account were already deleted, not just deactivated. ## Expected **Deactivate** and **Delete** should be two different things. They're shown as two separate buttons in Settings → Danger Zone — *Deactivate Account* and *Delete Account Permanently* — so the UI clearly signals they're distinct actions: - **Deactivate** → account hidden from others, login disabled, but **logging in re-activates the account**. No data loss. No countdown to purge. - **Delete** → account scheduled for permanent removal. 30-day grace period during which logging back in cancels the deletion. After the grace period, account + data are wiped. Right now, **Deactivate behaves like Delete** (or worse — at least Delete has a documented 30-day grace where you can log back in; Deactivate just locks you out). ## Reproduction 1. Sign in. 2. Settings → Edit Profile → scroll to **Danger Zone**. 3. Click **Deactivate Account** → confirm. 4. Sign out (or wait for the session to drop). 5. Try to sign back in. 6. Observe: login is refused with a message saying the account has been deleted, even though you only chose Deactivate. ## Confirm-dialog text vs reality The dialog reads: > If you deactivate your account: > - Your profile will no longer be visible to others. > - You will not be able to log in. > - Your data will be retained and can be restored. > - **To reactivate, simply log in again.** The last line is the bug — that promise is not kept. ## Impact - Anyone who clicks Deactivate intending to take a break is locked out permanently from the UI's perspective. Recovery requires admin / DB intervention. - The two-button design (Deactivate vs Delete) becomes meaningless — there's effectively only one outcome. - High trust cost: a Danger Zone control that doesn't match its own description erodes confidence in the rest of the settings page. ## Suggested fix direction Make Deactivate genuinely reversible by login — implement what the dialog already promises. Keep Delete as the permanent path with its 30-day grace. If the team decides Deactivate and Delete *should* be the same action, then the second button + the dialog copy need to change to match — but that contradicts the standard pattern users expect from "Deactivate vs Delete" on platforms they're already familiar with. ## Found by Manual testing