New policy on account deletion
Adjustment of ETH user account deletion for academic staff and students at ETH Zurich from 180 days to 150 days.
Introduction Monday, 2 March 2026
Students, lecturers and academic staff who leave ETH Zurich on or after Monday, 2 March 2026, will have a grace period of 150 days. Their services will remain active for 150 days after their departure. Different periods apply to special students and guest students as well as to employees.
Students, lecturers and research staff who left before 2 March 2026 will retain their 180-day waiting period.
Access to data
Once the ETH user account has expired, all data will no longer be accessible and will be deactivated. Please remember to hand over any important data to your department before you leave.
polybox
polybox data will no longer be accessible once the ETH user account is blocked. No special cancellation is required, as the ETH user account is linked to the polybox service.
Home directory / personal ETH homepage
Students, lecturers and academic staff will no longer have access to their home directory and personal ETH homepage 150 days after leaving.
myStudies
In principle, access to myStudies is possible as long as the ETH user account is valid (150 days after de-registration).
Old enrolments
Access to old enrolments (e.g. data from a completed Bachelor’s enrolment) remains possible for a further 180 days after leaving, as long as there is an active enrolment (e.g. for a Master’s programme). The condition is that there is still a further connection to ETH Zurich (Master’s or employment after the doctorate). Once you leave ETH, access ends after 150 days (see above).
More information on leaving ETH
- Brochure «Leaving ETH: Important Information«
- Operational guideline on deleting the accounts of scientific staff and students at ETH Zurich (PDF) (in German)
- Updated validity periods for ETH accounts after leaving (ITS CxS Hub)
