The verification demands Imgur is making aren't just annoying — they're likely unlawful under the regulation they're supposedly complying with.

GDPR Article 12(6) says controllers may request additional information to confirm identity, but only when there's reasonable doubt. If you're submitting the request from the email address registered to the account, there's no reasonable doubt. That's the account holder. The password reset flow proves it.

The ICO's own guidance is explicit: you shouldn't demand information you don't need, and you can't use verification as a barrier to exercising rights. Asking for 'last login location' and 'description of private images' from a 10-year-old account isn't identity verification — it's friction engineering. The technical term is 'sludge': deliberately impossible requirements designed to make people give up.

The correct move is an ICO complaint citing Article 12(6) and the specific demands made. The ICO has been increasingly willing to act on this pattern. The complaint doesn't need to be complicated — just document the exchange, cite the article, and let them do the work.

That seems unreasonable.. proving ownership of the email address should be considered sufficient so ICO complaint it is.

The only identifable information you should have to provide is the information you signed up with.

I've had a couple sites ask for id, but that wouldnt verify I own the account anymore than just me sending them the email from the same address I used to sign up with.

GDPR has a flaw iirc, where it allows this, I guess the UK version isnt any different.

“We would love to delete your data for you. In order to do that, you need to provide us even more data than we originally asked for during account creation.”

If it isn't many images, couldn't you just login on VPN (i think proton has free one) and delete images?

That is bs. I should consider deleting mine but now i cba. Though i can still access mine with a vpn. So i might delete through the site.

I use imgur rarely, without account. Sharing images in sites like Lemmy, Mastodon, and other ActivityPub sites don't need an image sharer, images can be uploaded directly or simply with copy paste. Hosting or backup images and any other files with Filen or Koofr, both 10 GB for free and from the EU (Germany and Slovenia)

This is over the top. I've had this trying to get a rarely used email account back, but if you own the account that can reset the password...why do this?

_