Withdrawing a story
How to take your story down, how long it takes, and honestly what we can and cannot reach.
Last updated
Draft pending review. This plain-language draft describes how the site is built to work today. It will be reviewed and finalized before the publication launches with real contributors.
How to withdraw
Email editors@hr.cafe from the address you submitted with, naming the story. You do not have to give a reason, and you will not be asked to justify it or talked out of it.
What happens, and when
- Within two working days — we acknowledge and confirm what you want: full withdrawal, or a lighter change such as removing your name or a detail.
- Within five working days — the story is removed from the site, the feed, the search index and the sitemap.
- The URL returns a 404. We do not leave a stub saying a story was withdrawn, because that can draw more attention than the story did.
- We confirm in writing when it is done, and tell you anything we could not reach.
What we cannot reach
Being straight about this matters more than sounding reassuring.
- Search engine caches clear on their own schedule. We request removal; we do not control the timing.
- A weekly email already sent cannot be recalled from anyone’s inbox.
- Feed readers and archive services may hold their own copy.
- Anyone who republished with permission is asked to remove it; we cannot compel them.
If any of this is the deciding factor for you, tell us before publication rather than after. It is much easier not to publish than to unpublish.
Less than full withdrawal
Often what someone actually needs is smaller: removing a name, changing a detail, moving to role-context-only. Any of these can be done without taking the story down. Ask for whatever you need.
Your data separately
Withdrawing a story does not automatically delete the submission record behind it. To remove that too, make a data request.