How to get AirBnB to (really) delete your account (really).

1. Email their data controller at dpo@airbnb.com asking them to delete your account attaching a scanned copy of some ID (I know, right!). If you are an EU citizen 😢 they are obligated to delete your data under the GDPR's right to erasure.
2. Er, that's it.

That time a BT rep. recommended I use "something like Password123"

There are loads and loads of sites out there with ridiculous password rules, but BT gets a special shout-out for their special, multiple, password policies. In case it's not obvious no one has any business capping the length of a password or disallowing certain characters. A hash will always end up the same length and you can hash any character. Besides, once the password is hashed you don't know what characters it's made up of anyway. If nothing else BT is a technology company so really should know better.

We are moving, BT has a sale on, my wallet beat my morals and I decided to go back to BT from Andrews & Arnold.

So I got past the BT ordering page and onto the account setup page. I generated my random 20 character password as usual and pasted it into the password field, but up came a big red banner, saying "Passwords must be 8 characters long, contain only letters & numbers and need to start with a letter." (I've only just noticed that it says "be 8 characters long", at the time I read it as "at least 8 characters long".)



Note how the text is helpfully truncated. I thought this was pretty dumb but changed my password generator to use only letters and numbers, start with a letter and set the length to 40 characters. That password was accepted by the JavaScript on the page, but then I went to paste the password into the confirmation field and nothing happened. Yep, JavaScript was now preventing me from pasting my generated password into the password confirmation field. (I'm not sure if a proper password manager would have managed to do this automatically.) No problem, I fired up the browser dev tools and removed the anti-paste code.



I filled the rest of the form in and clicked "Continue". The same page loaded again, but this time with a big red warning saying "Please ensure all required information is complete."



I wasn't even sure that this was about the password, so I got onto their chat support:

Issy: Good morning Jamie
Issy: How may I assist you with your order today?
Jamie: Hi
Jamie: I am trying to create an account
Issy: I'll be happy to assist you with that
Jamie: but at the "Please complete your set up options." page
Jamie: where I choose a password etc
Jamie: it comes back with
Jamie: "Please ensure all required information is complete."
Jamie: no indication of what is wrong
Jamie: I have filled everything in
Jamie: also
Jamie: there are a number of other issues with the form
Jamie: the password rules are stupid
Jamie: and I can't paste into the password confirmation box
Issy: Please make sure your password isn't too long. Something linke Password123 should work
Jamie: HOLY FUCK
Jamie: are you joking?
Issy: Please don't use that one. It wouldn't be too safe
Jamie: can I download this chat transcript?
Issy: Please select the small envelope at the top of this chat to send a copy to yourself
Issy: You can also copy and paste
Jamie: so is twenty characters too long?
Issy: That's right
Jamie: your password policy doesn't allow special characters
Jamie: alpha numeric only
Jamie: and twenty characters is too long?
Jamie: so what's the maximum length then?
Issy: That's correct Jamie. It would need to be within 8-16 characters. I'm aware it doesn't show this on the page
Jamie: Wow.

So yes, a 16 character alpha-numeric password worked. But this isn't the end of the story. Once I had logged into the BT website I checked to see if I could change my password to a longer one, and yes, I could! In fact there didn't seem to be limit to the length, but it still didn't like special characters. But that still isn't the end of the story, while writing this blog post I wanted to see if you could create a BT account outside of the order process. You can, and on that page once you enter an invalid password there is actually a helpful description of which special characters are allowed: "Only use numbers, letters and these special characters :!@#$%^&*()_+-=[]{};':",./?". Using these I was finally able to generate a long random password with special characters.

Bonus lolz

Remember how I said I was moving? Well during the order process I ticked the box to say that I wasn't yet living at the property, but I wasn't asked for a current postal address, where they would be able to send the confirmation details.

Jamie: do you know when/where the confirmation letter will be sent?
Issy: This would be to the address your service is to be connected
Jamie: but I'm not living there at the moment
Jamie: the current owners are
Issy: You may want to make them aware to expect the letter.
Jamie: Brilliant.

My Hour with Skype Support

12:41:31 jamiekay

Initial Question/Comment: Using Skype (create a new user, change my profile, manage my contacts)

12:41:31 System

Thank you for contacting Skype Customer Support!

12:41:36 System

Christopher G. has joined this session!

12:41:36 System

Connected with Christopher G.

12:41:41 Christopher G.

Hello! Welcome to Skype Live Support! My name is Christopher. How may I help you?

12:41:44 jamiekay

Hi

12:41:52 jamiekay

I was just chatting to one of your colleagues

12:41:57 jamiekay

and my browser crashed

12:42:05 jamiekay

since merging my MSN and Skype accounts

12:42:12 jamiekay

all my Skype contacts have disappeared

12:42:23 jamiekay

this happened before

12:42:30 jamiekay

and I contacted support

12:42:34 jamiekay

and they restored my contacts

12:42:39 jamiekay

but only to my skype login

12:42:43 jamiekay

not my MSN login

12:42:55 jamiekay

so the contact lists still weren't merged

12:43:31 Christopher G.

Thanks for the following information.

12:44:36 Christopher G.

May I have your Skype name and first name please so I could check your account?

12:44:40 jamiekay

JamieKay

12:44:41 jamiekay

Jamie

12:45:01 Christopher G.

Thank you, Jamie.

12:47:06 Christopher G.

I checked this Skype account but it doesn't show here that you have successfully merged it your MSN account.

12:47:58 jamiekay

ok...

12:48:21 Christopher G.

Is there anything else I can help you with today?

12:48:53 jamiekay

erm

12:48:55 jamiekay

yes

12:49:13 jamiekay

my skype contacts have disappeared since I merged my MSN and Skyep accounts

12:50:21 Christopher G.

May I know your email address?

12:50:26 jamiekay

***

12:51:16 Christopher G.

Thank you. Let me double check our records.

12:51:46 Christopher G.

May I know what is you Microsoft email account?

12:51:51 jamiekay

***

12:54:46 Christopher G.

I checked this email account and it was not linked to your Skype account.

12:55:07 jamiekay

ok, well regardless of whether it is linked or not

12:55:13 jamiekay

I have still lost all my skype contacts

12:55:31 Christopher G.

That is why your are not seeing some of your contacts.

12:55:50 jamiekay

when I sign into skype

12:55:53 jamiekay

using my MSN account

12:56:01 jamiekay

I see all of my MSN contacts

12:56:05 jamiekay

when I sign into Skype

12:56:05 Christopher G.

May I know if you were able to login to the Skype application on your desktop?

12:56:10 jamiekay

using my Skype account

12:56:20 jamiekay

I don't see any contacts

12:56:38 jamiekay

so I don't see how merging the accounts would help

12:56:41 Christopher G.

What do you see on your account right now?

12:56:52 jamiekay

I also do not get prompted to merge the accounts

12:56:56 jamiekay

which I did before

12:56:59 jamiekay

and I accepted

12:57:02 jamiekay

and merged the accounts

12:57:10 jamiekay

which account are you asking about?

12:57:19 jamiekay

my MSN account or my Skype account?

12:57:26 Christopher G.

What do you see on your screen right now?

12:57:47 jamiekay

I am logged into Skype

12:57:50 jamiekay

using my Skype account

12:57:53 jamiekay

and I see no contacts

12:58:26 Christopher G.

What do you see on your screen as of this moment?

12:59:12 jamiekay

I don't understand what you're asking

12:59:19 jamiekay

I see no contacts

12:59:33 jamiekay

I can send you a screen shot if you want

13:00:31 Christopher G.

Did you login to the Skype website or to the Skype application?

13:00:38 jamiekay

the application

13:01:41 Christopher G.

Thanks for that information.

13:01:43 jamiekay

if I log in online

13:01:45 jamiekay

I can see

13:01:50 jamiekay

that it confirms

13:01:54 jamiekay

that my MSN account

13:01:59 jamiekay

is linked

13:02:02 jamiekay

to my Skype account

13:02:17 jamiekay

I do not know why your system says they are not linked

13:02:31 Christopher G.

Is there anything else I can help you with today?

13:02:36 jamiekay

YES

13:02:46 jamiekay

MY SKYPE CONTACTS HAVE DISAPPEARED

13:03:11 Christopher G.

Okay please stay on the line while I check my resources regarding your concern.

13:03:25 jamiekay

perhaps you could check what the previous person did

13:03:28 jamiekay

to restore them

13:03:30 jamiekay

on 27th July

13:05:31 Christopher G.

Thanks for patiently waiting.

13:05:41 Christopher G.

Upon review, I've noticed that your issue is handled by another department. I will need to transfer you to the team that handles this kind of issue.

13:05:46 Christopher G.

Please stay on the line, I will transfer you now. Have a great day.

13:05:56 System

You are being transferred to another queue. Please stand by...

13:05:56 System

Christopher G. has left this session!

13:05:56 System

Danna Kenett Z. has joined this session!

13:05:56 System

Connected with Danna Kenett Z.

13:06:01 Danna Kenett Z.

Hello! I'm Danna Kenett.
It seems you have been transferred to me for further assistance. I'll just take a look at your previous conversation and then we can get started.

13:06:07 jamiekay

Thank you

13:07:16 Danna Kenett Z.

You mentioned that you are unable to see your Contacts. Is that correct?

13:07:26 jamiekay

my Skype contacts, yes

13:08:06 Danna Kenett Z.

May I please know your operating system or device?

13:08:13 jamiekay

Windows 7

13:09:06 Danna Kenett Z.

Thank you.

13:09:16 Danna Kenett Z.

Can you please confirm your Skype name?

13:09:24 jamiekay

jamiekay

13:09:31 Danna Kenett Z.

Thank you.

13:09:36 Danna Kenett Z.

Please hold on.

13:12:16 Danna Kenett Z.

Thank you for waiting.

13:12:31 Danna Kenett Z.

May I please know if these contacts are Skype contacts?

13:12:39 jamiekay

yes

13:13:21 Danna Kenett Z.

Approximately how many contacts do you have with this account?

13:13:37 jamiekay

approximately 10 - 20

13:13:51 Danna Kenett Z.

Do you have other Skype account?

13:13:59 jamiekay

no

13:14:31 Danna Kenett Z.

May I please know the email address attached to this account?

13:14:39 jamiekay

***

13:15:09 jamiekay

this has happened before, perhaps you could check the notes of the previous call?

13:16:21 Danna Kenett Z.

I see.

13:17:06 Danna Kenett Z.

But we are able to see if you are just calling Skype to Skype.

13:17:26 jamiekay

I meant the previous support call

13:17:36 Danna Kenett Z.

Upon checking your account there are no saved contacts here and you have 1 deleted contact.

13:17:37 jamiekay

surely you keep records of each support call?

13:19:36 Danna Kenett Z.

I see, that your account is merged with your Live account, right?

13:19:40 jamiekay

yes

13:19:51 Danna Kenett Z.

So the missing contacts are from Live, is that correct?

13:19:55 jamiekay

no

13:20:21 jamiekay

it's my Skype contacts that have disappeared

13:20:26 Danna Kenett Z.

But in your account there are no contacts.

13:20:39 jamiekay

EXACTLY

13:21:06 Danna Kenett Z.

And there is only one deleted contact.

13:21:27 jamiekay

do you have the records of my support call from 27th July?

13:21:56 Danna Kenett Z.

Please hold on to check.

13:23:21 Danna Kenett Z.

The contacts that you have here is just today, 3 times now, right?

13:24:01 Danna Kenett Z.

May I please know if you used other Skype Name or email address?

13:24:31 jamiekay

The MSN account that I merged is ***

13:25:51 Danna Kenett Z.

Can you please try to login to people.live.com?

13:26:15 jamiekay

yep

13:26:51 Danna Kenett Z.

Please see if your Live contacts are there.

13:27:10 jamiekay

Yes, my Live contacts are there.

13:27:56 Danna Kenett Z.

Are these contacts are you referring to as missing?

13:27:59 jamiekay

NO

13:28:08 jamiekay

It's my SKYPE contacts that are missing

13:29:26 Danna Kenett Z.

May I please know if you are login to your Skype account in the Skype application?

13:29:33 jamiekay

yes

13:30:21 Danna Kenett Z.

May I please know how you login there?

13:30:34 jamiekay

what do you mean?

13:30:43 jamiekay

with my user name jamiekay

13:31:03 jamiekay

can we start again?

13:31:12 jamiekay

since merging my Skype and MSN accounts

13:31:21 jamiekay

I have lost my Skype contacts

13:31:35 jamiekay

this happened before

13:31:41 jamiekay

on Sat 27th July

13:31:46 jamiekay

and they were restored

13:32:18 jamiekay

however my two contacts lists were still not merged

13:32:22 jamiekay

so I unlinked my accounts

13:32:26 jamiekay

and re-merged them

13:32:28 jamiekay

and now

13:32:37 jamiekay

my Skype contacts have disappeared again

13:33:16 Danna Kenett Z.

Are we talking about same accounts? jamiekay and ***@live.co.uk?

13:33:21 jamiekay

yes

13:33:33 jamiekay

live.com

13:35:21 Danna Kenett Z.

Okay.

13:36:01 Danna Kenett Z.

I have checked your history of merging and unmerging your account and this happen last July 27 and unmerging today and merged again today.

13:36:24 jamiekay

yes

13:37:16 Danna Kenett Z.

If you unmerged your accounts with your Live account the contacts of your Skype account will not be affected if you have Skype contacts, but there is non here.

13:39:41 Danna Kenett Z.

Can you please try to login using your Live account in the Skype application.

13:40:04 jamiekay

yes

13:42:51 Danna Kenett Z.

Were you able to see your Live contacts?

13:44:21 jamiekay

yes

13:44:41 Danna Kenett Z.

Are these the contacts that you are referring to?

13:44:47 jamiekay

NO

13:44:56 jamiekay

as I have told you repeatedly

13:45:05 jamiekay

it is my SKYPE contacts that have disappeared

13:46:31 Danna Kenett Z.

Okay.

13:46:46 Danna Kenett Z.

Would it be okay to make a follow on this issue.

13:47:06 Danna Kenett Z.

We will check further on your account to see if these contacts are missing.

13:47:20 Danna Kenett Z.

May I please have your email address to send you the response?

13:47:27 jamiekay

***

13:47:36 Danna Kenett Z.

Thank you.

13:48:11 Danna Kenett Z.

Aside from this, would there be anything else that I can assist you with today?

13:48:27 jamiekay

Not apart from this

13:48:46 Danna Kenett Z.

Okay.

13:48:56 Danna Kenett Z.

Thank you for your time and patience.

13:49:01 Danna Kenett Z.

Have a great one.

13:49:14 jamiekay

bye

13:49:16 Danna Kenett Z.

We will get back to you as soon as possible.

13:49:21 jamiekay

ok, thanks

13:49:26 Danna Kenett Z.

Bye.

13:49:31 Danna Kenett Z.

You are most welcome.

13:49:31 Danna Kenett Z.

Please note that shortly after our chat session ends, you will be presented with a survey. We would like to ask you to complete this survey to give us feedback on the quality of the service you received. The aim of the survey is to further improve our work and quality of our services.

13:49:36 Danna Kenett Z.

It's been a pleasure speaking with you today. Thank you for contacting Skype Live Support, have a great day. We value your feedback. Please be aware that we will ask you a few questions after closing the chat window about your experience with us today. Once you are ready please click on the "Exit" button.

UPDATE: I thought my colleague George was joking when he said these sound like 'bots, but reading it again I wonder if he's got a point. It also seems that each time I started SHOUTING I got passed on. Maybe 'bots don't like caps-lock.