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Use Tools > Export Personal Data for an individual’s data request and Tools > Erase Personal Data to remove data WordPress and participating plugins can find. Both workflows require email validation and administrator approval. Review the scope and retention obligations before acting: confirmed erasure is permanent, does not automatically delete a WordPress account, and does not remove copies held by external services or backups.
Export a person’s data
- Open the personal-data tool. In the WordPress dashboard, go to Tools > Export Personal Data. Do not use the regular Tools > Export screen; that creates a site-content WXR XML file rather than a privacy-request archive.
- Submit the request. Enter the requester’s username or email address and send the request. WordPress emails a validation link to that address. Keep this check enabled: it helps reduce the risk of releasing data to an impersonator.
- Approve it manually. The request remains pending until the requester validates the email. Review the request in the dashboard and approve it before generating the archive.
- Generate and deliver the ZIP. After approval, generate the personal-data export and provide the resulting ZIP through the workflow. It contains the information WordPress can locate for that user on this site.
- Check data outside WordPress. Make a separate inventory of analytics, newsletter, advertising, embedded-media and other services. The core exporter cannot automatically retrieve records held by services or by plugins that do not participate in WordPress’s privacy hooks.
- Tell the requester about the download window. WordPress developer documentation specifies a default three-day lifetime for the export download link. Site code can change that period, so confirm the setting and ask the requester to download the archive promptly.
Erase personal data
- Open the erasure tool. Go to Tools > Erase Personal Data, enter the requester’s username or email address, and send the request.
- Wait for email validation. The requester receives a validation link. The request is Pending before confirmation, then becomes Confirmed. If validation fails or expires, it can show Failed; resend the email when appropriate.
- Review before committing. Check what should be retained for applicable legal, statutory or security reasons, and review plugin and service coverage. WordPress’s screen guide says the action has no second confirmation prompt.
- Click “Erase Personal Data” only when ready. This completes the request and permanently removes the data that WordPress and participating plugins report from the database. Confirmed erasure cannot be reversed through this workflow.
What erasure does—and does not—delete
It does not automatically delete the user account
Erasing personal data does not automatically remove a registered WordPress user, login or profile. If deleting the account is also appropriate, handle that separately from Users and decide how that account’s authored content should be treated. Account deletion and personal-data erasure are different administrative actions.
It may not reach every plugin or service
Core WordPress can process its own data and information supplied by participating plugins. Nonparticipating plugins and external systems—such as analytics, email-marketing, advertising and embedded-media providers—may retain separate records. Contact or use each provider’s documented privacy process rather than assuming the dashboard tool covered it.
It does not erase backup copies
Removing live database data does not remove the same information from backup files, exports or archived sites. Keep a record of the request and ensure your backup and restoration procedure respects it. If an archived site is restored, WordPress guidance says previously completed erasure requests should still be honored.
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Do not confuse the two export tools
| Dashboard route | Output | Typical purpose |
|---|---|---|
| Tools > Export Personal Data | ZIP of personal data found for a requested user, after email validation and administrator approval | Responding to an individual access request |
| Tools > Export | WordPress eXtended RSS (WXR) XML containing site content such as posts, pages, comments, custom fields, categories, tags, custom taxonomies and users | Moving or exporting site content; it is not the personal-data request archive |
Understand scope, retention and policy duties
Check whether retention is required
Deletion is not necessarily absolute. A site may need to keep information for a legal or statutory obligation—for example, a sales record—or for a security reason such as an active abuse investigation. Which exceptions apply depends on the site’s activities and jurisdiction; document the reason and retain only what is necessary.
Keep the privacy policy accurate
WordPress’s Privacy Policy Editing Helper can assemble starter language from WordPress core and participating plugins, but it cannot discover every external tool a site uses. Inventory actual collection, sharing and retention practices and update the policy to match them. WordPress describes these tools as assistance with part of privacy work, not a compliance process by themselves.
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- Easily store and access 5TB of content on the go with the Seagate portable drive, a USB external hard Drive
- Designed to work with Windows or Mac computers, this external hard drive makes backup a snap just drag and drop
- To get set up, connect the portable hard drive to a computer for automatic recognition software required
- This USB drive provides plug and play simplicity with the included 18 inch USB 3.0 cable
- The available storage capacity may vary.
Plan for restorations
Define how an administrator identifies completed erasure requests when restoring an archive, and how restored data is reprocessed. A backup vendor or plugin is useful only if its documented process supports this requirement; no separate product is required for the built-in WordPress workflow.
Manage the request queue safely
Remove a completed request record
After processing, Remove request clears the request entry from the dashboard table. It does not erase personal data and should never be mistaken for the erasure action.
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- Easily store and access 1TB to content on the go with the Seagate Portable Drive, a USB external hard drive.Specific uses: Personal
- Designed to work with Windows or Mac computers, this external hard drive makes backup a snap just drag and drop. Reformatting may be required for Mac
- To get set up, connect the portable hard drive to a computer for automatic recognition no software required
- This USB drive provides plug and play simplicity with the included 18 inch USB 3.0 cable
- The available storage capacity may vary.
Use force erasure only as an exception
The erasure screen documents a force-erasure control that can bypass email confirmation, including for a pending request. Reserve it for a justified, documented case—such as a validated request handled through another trusted channel. Ordinary requests should use the normal email-validation path.
Practical review checklist
- Confirm the requester’s identity through the emailed validation link.
- Use the personal-data tools, not the WXR content exporter.
- List participating and nonparticipating plugins and every relevant external service.
- Check legal, statutory and security reasons that may require limited retention.
- Warn that confirmed erasure is permanent and has no additional confirmation prompt.
- Handle account deletion separately if it is required.
- Address backups, archives and restoration procedures.
- Provide the export ZIP promptly, noting that the default download link lifetime is three days unless site code changes it.
- Remove only the queue record when administrative cleanup is desired.
The Bottom Line
For an individual request, start with Tools > Export Personal Data or Tools > Erase Personal Data, validate the requester by email, and review scope before approval. Erasure is permanent for covered database data, but it is not account deletion and does not by itself clear third-party systems or backups.
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- Easily store and access 4TB of content on the go with the Seagate Portable Drive, a USB external hard drive.Specific uses: Personal
- Designed to work with Windows or Mac computers, this external hard drive makes backup a snap just drag and drop
- To get set up, connect the portable hard drive to a computer for automatic recognition no software required
- This USB drive provides plug and play simplicity with the included 18 inch USB 3.0 cable
- The available storage capacity may vary.
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