Deleting user data with no notice is a bad practice.
Well, I dug a little further. This is from the Nirvana terms of service, which can be found at
https://www.nirvanahq.com/terms:
In addition, if you are using the free version of the Service, Nirvana reserves the right to cancel your Account and delete all of your information after one year of inactivity. In such a case, you will be given two email notices prior to the cancellation and deletion.
So, first: it's in their terms of use (which all of us agree to when we use the service). I realize that may not be prominent enough for some, but it's there.
Second: they claim they provide two email notices before deleting a free account. If you believe you did not receive such notices, it may be worth following up with them. Maybe you can ask what email address they had on file and whether they can substantiate having sent you the notices or not.
I posted as a public service, and edge case or not, my data was tied to my paid pro account. It was a fully functional account. Others who may have valuable data in paid accounts or free accounts should be aware of the risk. Deleting user data with no notice is a bad practice.
Believe it or not, I appreciate your good intentions. At the risk of upsetting you, may I (in the kindest way I know how) suggest that providing incomplete information doesn't necessarily help the situation? Nor does exaggerating the risk. I don't know what it means to have data in a free account "tied to" a paid account. But I would warrant that for the overwhelming majority of paid users, this policy provides no risk whatsoever.
I applaud your good intentions. But I do think a complete picture is more helpful. Nirvana's policy is explicitly stated in their terms of service, it is limited to free accounts, and it is their stated policy to provide notice. If that didn't happen in your case (or, at the very least, if you believe it didn't happen), it might be worth following up with them.
I hope this helps clarify the situation. I know when I first read
@lastgasp's initial post, I wondered whether I had placed my faith in a company that didn't deserve it. After getting a complete picture, I feel better. It's always worth checking the facts.