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Incomplete software uninstallation leaves residual user data

💸 moneyproduct problemSingle report ●●●●● severity 2/5

A GnuCash user on Windows 11 reports that uninstalling the software and manually deleting files does not remove previous data, causing the application to reload old information upon reinstallation.

Who's affected: A GnuCash user on Windows 11

⚠️ Single report. This is one person's account. We mark it so until more voices confirm it.

What people do today

🔧 Fix this

Ideas a builder, maker or community group could start on:

  1. A cross-platform uninstaller tool that scans for and prompts to delete all associated user data and registry keys for specific applications.
  2. A community-maintained database of file paths and registry keys for popular open-source software to help users perform manual cleanups.
  3. A standardized 'factory reset' feature integrated into software installers that explicitly asks the user if they want to purge all local data during uninstallation.
I want to build this

Real voices

“I have uninstalled it, I have erased files I know are associated with Gnucash. I have then re-downloaded it and installed it and it is coming ups with data I had previously entered.”

Source: Stack Exchange (money) · CC BY-SA 4.0, user-contributed content from Stack Exchange; summarized and modified

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