Someone has asked you to delete the personal data your site keeps about them. WordPress has a tool built for exactly that: it gathers everything stored against their email address, then erases it or strips out the identifying details.

## Before you start

- An administrator account — erasing another person’s data is limited to admins.
- The email address the person used on your site, or the username they log in with.
- A note of anywhere else you hold their details, such as a mailing list or a payment provider. WordPress can only clear what it stores itself.

## Steps

### Step 1: Open the tool and add a request

In the admin menu on the left, select **Tools**, then select **Erase Personal Data**. Under **Add Data Erasure Request**, type the person’s username or email address into the **Username or email address** field — WordPress will find everything it holds against that address. The **Confirmation email** option is ticked by default, so the person approves the erasure themselves: leave it as it is and select **Send Request**.

![Open the tool and add a request](https://wordpress.supportpages.io/rails/active_storage/blobs/proxy/eyJfcmFpbHMiOnsiZGF0YSI6MTA5NzUsInB1ciI6ImJsb2JfaWQifX0=--58254fee49bbc69e0615aebd56b8eaae767799e9/block_open-erase-tool.png)

### Step 2: Find the request and erase the data

Once the person has approved the request, their row shows **Confirmed** and **Next steps** offers **Erase personal data**. Select it to start the erasure. If they haven’t replied yet and you need to go ahead anyway, select **Force erase personal data** in that request’s row instead — that skips the email confirmation.

![Find the request and erase the data](https://wordpress.supportpages.io/rails/active_storage/blobs/proxy/eyJfcmFpbHMiOnsiZGF0YSI6MTEwMTMsInB1ciI6ImJsb2JfaWQifX0=--627486dbc0122c886d2a84395f8c4b350d0ca949/block_check-the-list.png)

### Step 3: Check what was erased

The erasure runs while you watch, then the row settles on **Completed** with a notice underneath explaining what happened — for example **All of the personal data found for this user was erased.** Anything WordPress had to hold on to is listed there too, so you can follow it up by hand. When you’re happy, select **Remove request** to clear the finished request from the list.

![Check what was erased](https://wordpress.supportpages.io/rails/active_storage/blobs/proxy/eyJfcmFpbHMiOnsiZGF0YSI6MTEwMTQsInB1ciI6ImJsb2JfaWQifX0=--364eaaba2ed4079ddbdc4cc2e58656ad7fe13c68/block_review-results.png)

## Good to know

- Comments survive an erasure. WordPress replaces the author name, email address, IP address and website on each one with anonymous values, so the conversation still reads properly.
- The tool only reaches data WordPress itself stores. Details held by a plugin or an outside service need clearing in that service.
- Finished requests stay in the list until you remove them, so you keep a record of what was asked for and when.

## Summary

Erasing someone’s data is a short loop: add the request, let them confirm it — or force it through — then run the erasure and read the result. Once the row says **Completed**, your part is done.