Requesting to delete a user
Members can request deletion of their own account directly from their community settings.
To request account deletion:
Select your profile avatar and open Settings.
Select Privacy from the Settings menu.
Select Request deletion.
Review the information explaining what will happen to your account and data.
Check the box confirming that you understand your account and personal data will be permanently deleted or anonymized.
Select Send confirmation email.
A confirmation email will be sent to the email address associated with your account. Your account will remain active until you confirm the deletion from this email.
The confirmation link expires after 24 hours and can only be used once.
If a member asks you to delete their account
If a member contacts you or Gradual instead of using the steps above, that request is handled as before. If a user makes a deletion or privacy-related request directly to Gradual, we will process their request as governed by our Data Processing Agreement with our customers and the relevant privacy regime. Once you receive a deletion request from a user, you may pass that to Gradual by emailing [email protected].
What happens when you request deletion
Before sending the confirmation email, Gradual will show a summary of the information that will be deleted or anonymized.
If you confirm the deletion:
Your profile and personal information, including your name, email address, and profile photo, are permanently removed.
Your event registrations and tickets are deleted, including registrations for upcoming events.
Your course enrollments and course progress are deleted.
Your reward points and any unredeemed rewards are deleted.
Your posts and comments remain in the community but are anonymized.
If your community is part of a group of linked communities, your account in the other communities in that group is deleted as well.
Account deletion is permanent and cannot be reversed.
Confirming account deletion
Open the confirmation email and select the account deletion link. You will be taken to a Confirm account deletion page.
Select Confirm deletion to permanently delete your account and personal data. The deletion will begin immediately, and you will see an Account deleted confirmation when the process is complete.
If you do not confirm the request within 24 hours, the link expires and your account is not deleted. You can return to Settings → Privacy to submit a new deletion request.
If the confirmation link does not work
Confirmation links expire after 24 hours and can only be used once.
If your link has expired, return to Settings → Privacy and submit a new account deletion request. A new confirmation email will be sent to you.
If the link has already been used, it cannot be used again. If your account was not deleted and you still want to request deletion, submit a new request from Settings → Privacy.
Requesting another confirmation email
If you submit a new deletion request before confirming a previous request, the previous confirmation link will no longer work. A new email will be sent, and the new link will be valid for 24 hours.
Confirmation emails can be requested once every 5 minutes.
If you recently requested an email and do not see it in your inbox, check your spam or junk folder before requesting another one.
How We Handle Data When a User Account Is Deleted
Once an account deletion is confirmed, Gradual removes the member’s personal information while anonymizing content that remains in the community. This protects the member’s privacy while preserving community content and reporting where appropriate.
When a user is deleted:
Personal data is permanently removed
Content that remains is fully anonymized
Deleted users can no longer be identified or accessed
Below is a detailed summary of what happens to a user’s data after deletion.
What Gets Fully Removed
Once a user is deleted, their personal profile and identifiable information are removed across the platform.
Profile and Account Data
The user’s profile is permanently removed.
Their profile will no longer appear in:
People directory
Contributors lists
Club member and leader lists
Search results
Bookmarks
Attempting to access their profile via a direct link will result in a 404 (page not found).
A user can re-use a deleted email, but no history or other data associated with a deleted account can be recovered. If they sign up again with the same email address, they are treated as a brand-new member, and their earlier posts and comments stay attributed to “Deleted User”.
Admin and Dashboard Records
The user is removed from all admin and dashboard views, including:
Member lists
Segments and reports
Permissions and roles
Event staffing (hosts, moderators, collaborators)
Club memberships and leadership roles
Any roles tied to the user (such as speaker or moderator) are unlinked.
What Gets Anonymized (Not Deleted)
To preserve conversations, analytics, and overall platform integrity, some data remains but is fully anonymized.
Identity Replacement
Wherever the user previously appeared:
Their name is replaced with “Deleted User”
Their title and company are removed
Their profile photo is replaced with a default avatar
Their profile can no longer be accessed
Content Created by the User
User-generated content is not deleted, but anonymized.
Forum Posts, Comments, and Content
Posts and comments remain visible
The author is shown as “Deleted User”
No personal information is displayed
Profile links and pop-ups are disabled
Notifications
Notifications reflect anonymized activity, for example:
“Deleted user commented on your post”
“Deleted user replied to your comment”
Engagement and Activity Data
Messages (Direct, Group, and Channels)
Conversations remain intact
The user appears as “Deleted User”
No profile access is available
Likes and Reactions
Reaction counts remain unchanged
Notifications are anonymized, for example:
“Deleted user reacted to your post”
Mentions
Mentions of the deleted user are updated to “Deleted user”
Mentions made by the deleted user remain unchanged
Events, Attendance, and Analytics
When a member deletes their account:
Their event registrations and tickets are deleted, including registrations for upcoming events.
Their personal information is removed from event records.
Historical activity that remains for reporting is anonymized and cannot be connected back to the deleted member.
Community-level analytics and statistics that do not contain the member’s personal information may remain available.
Viewing Account Deletion Requests
Dashboard admins can view member account deletion requests from Dashboard → Members → Deletion Requests.
Requests are organized into three tabs:
Pending: The member has requested account deletion but has not yet confirmed it from the email.
Deleted: The member confirmed the request and the account was deleted.
Expired: The member did not confirm the request before the 24-hour confirmation link expired.
Deleted requests include the request ID, a protected version of the member's email address, the date and time the request was made, and the date and time the deletion finished.
Only requests that members start themselves appear here. Deletions carried out by the Gradual team on a member's behalf are not listed.
Admin Views and Data Exports
After an account is deleted:
The member’s personal data is removed from admin tools and exported files.
Any content or activity that remains is anonymized and cannot be connected back to the deleted member.
This includes remaining references in areas such as:
Forum moderation logs
Comments and posts
Leads and contribution records
Any personal data export files previously generated for the member are also permanently deleted.
If you have questions about data deletion or privacy, please contact our support team at [email protected] or our privacy team at [email protected].