Privacy

Uninstalling the ME-TA SCE Desktop Client

Companion to the privacy notice § Retention and deletion. Uninstalling the app (Windows Settings → Apps, or your organisation's device management) removes the application itself only. Everything the app stored for you stays on the computer, deliberately: study folders may contain work that exists nowhere else, and a reinstall picks your data straight back up.

What uninstalling leaves behind

WhatWhereContains
Study folders %USERPROFILE%\ME-TA\studies by default; installations set up before August 2026 use c:\temp\me-ta-sas-client\ (production) — plus any custom per-study locations you chose when adding a study Downloaded/synchronised study content; a hidden .me-ta area with sync state and technical sync logs
Sign-in token cache %LOCALAPPDATA%\ME-TA\<environment>\ Session tokens (DPAPI-encrypted files); cleared by signing out before uninstalling
Refresh token Windows Credential Manager, entries named ME-TA_RefreshToken_<environment> Long-lived sign-in token; cleared by signing out before uninstalling
Machine settings %LOCALAPPDATA%\ME-TA\ (transfer-settings.json, study-locations-*.json) Transfer-mode choice; the registry of where each study folder lives
Migration work plans The app's data folder (%APPDATA%\ME-TA\migrations); Microsoft Store installations may hold this inside the app package's private data, which Windows removes on uninstall File listings (names/folders/sizes) of folders you selected for bulk migration; deleted automatically on completion or after 90 days

To remove everything

  1. Sign out in the app first (top right → Log out) — this clears the token cache and the Credential Manager entry for the environment you were signed in to.
  2. Uninstall the app (Windows Settings → Apps → ME-TA SCE → Uninstall).
  3. Delete the folder %LOCALAPPDATA%\ME-TA (token cache for all environments + machine settings).
  4. If any entries remain under Control Panel → Credential Manager → Windows Credentials named ME-TA_RefreshToken_…, remove them (or run cmdkey /delete:ME-TA_RefreshToken_prod2).
  5. Delete your study folders — %USERPROFILE%\ME-TA (or c:\temp\me-ta-sas-client\ on pre-August-2026 installations, and any custom locations you chose).
  6. Delete %APPDATA%\ME-TA if it exists (migration work plans).
Warning (step 5): local work that was never uploaded to the platform is permanently lost when you delete study folders; synchronised content remains available on the platform.

Uninstalling never deletes anything from the Metawebservice platform itself — server-side study content and your account are governed by your organisation's agreement with ME-TA (see the privacy notice).