Managing deleted contacts
When you delete a contact, whether it's an individual or an organisation, they are not immediately removed from the system permanently. This article explains the deletion process and its implications.
The "Recently Deleted" stage
For the first 30 days after deletion, the contact is moved to a "Recently Deleted" area. During this period:
- The contact will not appear in any of your segments or groups.
- The contact is not counted towards your monthly contact limit for billing purposes.
- Any user accounts associated with the deleted contact will be disabled, preventing them from logging in.
- An email address associated with a deleted contact cannot be used to create a new contact until the original contact is permanently deleted.
- If a deleted contact submits an online form (e.g., a new enquiry or event booking) using the same email address, the system will automatically restore their contact record.
30 days after deletion the contact is automatically deleted permanently.
What happens to associated information?
When a contact is in the "Recently Deleted" stage, all their associated information, such as event bookings, orders, and form submissions, remains linked to their record.
However, once a contact is permanently deleted (either automatically after 30 days or manually by an administrator), the link between the person and their associated data is severed. For example:
- An event booking will still exist in the event's records, but it will appear without a name or any personal details associated with it.
- Form submissions and orders will also become anonymous, losing their connection to the deleted contact.
This process ensures that your historical data remains intact for reporting purposes while respecting the permanent deletion of personal information.
View, restore or permanently delete "Recently Deleted" contacts
If you need to restore a deleted contact or permanently delete a contact before the 30-day window is over, you can do so manually.
- Go to Contacts > People
- Then go to Actions > View deleted
- Find the person in the table of deleted people
- Choose Restore or Permanently Delete from the action menu (...) in the table row
Please note: Permanent deletion is irreversible. Once a contact is permanently deleted, neither you nor our support team can recover their information.