Handle an erasure request

When a member asks, by e-mail or another channel, for the community to erase their data, the owner or the admin does it for them.

#What it is for

To serve people who want to be forgotten and cannot request it themselves: someone without a password, someone who does not remember how to sign in, or someone who prefers to ask the community. A member with a password can request the deletion alone, with 30 days to change their mind (see Delete your account).

#How it works

#Removing is not erasing

See Remove from the community.

#Who can erase whom

Only the owner and the admin, and only over a role below their own:

• The owner is never erased: "The owner cannot delete their own account while the community exists. Transfer the ownership first."
• Moderator and finance do not handle erasure requests.
• Your own account is not erased here: request it like any member, in Delete your account.

#Where it is

In Administration › Members, open the person's edit window (Edit Member Profile). At the end of the window, the privacy block has Export this person's data and Delete this person's data. It only shows for the owner and the admin, and only when editing someone with a role below their own.

Delete this person's data opens the "Delete …'s data?" window: "Do this only at the person's own request. It is final and cannot be withdrawn.", with what happens, the Reason (required) and the confirmation: type DELETE in "To confirm, type DELETE" and click Delete the data. The edit window closes, and the person leaves the member list.

#The reason is required

Write where the request came from, with at least 3 characters (up to 1,000): "Member's request by e-mail on 11/01/2026." The reason stays in the activity log, with who handled it and when, but without the erased data.

#No period to change their mind

An erasure made by the team does not have the 30 days to change one's mind and cannot be undone: if the person tries to sign in or use the cancel link, they see that the deletion was made by the team at their request and that they need to talk to the community. Confirm the identity of whoever asks before handling it.

At the moment of the request:

• the person's subscriptions stop renewing (they run to the end of the period already paid, with no refund);
• their sessions end, and their AI assistant connections and API keys are turned off;
• they disappear from the directory, mentions, the ranking and member counts.

Afterwards, the platform's routine completes the erasure, with the same effect as a request made by the member: anonymized profile, posts, comments and messages as "Removed member", what is only theirs erased and financial records kept without the name. See On the effective date.

#Someone without a password

An account without a password cannot request the deletion alone ("Your account has no password. Ask the community team to delete it."). The person has two paths:

1. create a password with Forgot password? on the sign-in screen and request it themselves, with the 30 days to change their mind; or
2. ask the community by e-mail. The team confirms the request really came from the person (for example, by replying to the sign-up e-mail) and handles it here.

#Step by step

Role: owner or admin.

1. Confirm the identity of whoever asks, through the sign-up e-mail.
2. If the person wants a copy, first use Export this person's data: the link goes to their e-mail. See Download your data.
3. In Administration › Members, open the person's edit window (Edit Member Profile) and click Delete this person's data.
4. Write the reason, type DELETE and click Delete the data.
5. Let the person know the request was handled.

#Frequently asked questions

Can the person change their mind later? No. That is why you confirm the request and the identity first. Anyone who wants the period to change their mind requests it alone, in Delete your account.

Does the person see the reason? No. It stays only in the activity log.

Do their payments disappear from Monetization? No. Orders, payments and invoices stay, unlinked from the name, because the law requires financial records to be kept.

Does erasing here erase the person in other communities? No. The erasure applies only to this community.

Can a moderator handle it? No. Only the owner and the admin.

#Through the assistant

erase_member_data (owner and admin, on a role below their own, never the owner), with the member and the reason, shows a summary and asks for confirmation before deleting. As on screen, there is no period to change your mind.

#In the API

POST /api/privacy/members/{memberId}/erasure, with reason (3 to 1,000 characters, required), by the owner or admin of the X-CommunityId. It answers 201 with the request (source: team; erasedAt is filled when the erasure is already complete) or 200 if a team request was already pending. Moderator, finance and member: 403; a role equal to or above yours: 403; the owner: 400 erasure.ownerBlocked; your own account: 400. See eraseMemberData.

The member's own requests are in Delete your account › In the API.

#Related

• Delete your account
• Download your data
• Manage members
• Logs
• Roles and permissions
• Subscription management