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Remove a profile

There are several ways to deal with problematic people in your database.

Updated over a week ago

Table of Contents

Change support level

We've found that it's useful to keep track of people when they become non-supporters by changing their support level to 4 or 5. Here's how to indicate a non-supporter:

From the list view in the People section, click on a person's name and then click Edit > Settings area of their profile. 

1. In the Support level dropdown menu, choose either "4 - Weak oppose" or "5 - Strong oppose."

2. Scroll down to the bottom of the page and click the Save person button.

The person will now be listed as a non-supporter in your database. If the person reaches out to you in the future, the history of your interaction will be available.

Delete a person

Deleting a person removes their profile from your nation and abandons any user-produced content. Deleting a person is irreversible.  A group of people can be deleted using a list

A profile cannot be deleted if the profile:

  • is an admin 

  • authored email blasts that are currently sending or scheduled to send in the next 10 minutes 

  • authored text blasts that are currently sending or scheduled to send in the next 10 minutes

If you do not want to retain any financial transactions related to this person, you should delete the transactions before deleting the profile. If you do not, and decide to remove these transactions later, please contact our Support Team at [email protected].

Donations will be retained with only enough personal data needed for financial compliance/tax reporting (donor email and IP address will be removed). Any recurring donations/installment payments will also be cancelled. 

Please note, NationBuilder cannot cancel Payflow Pro recurring donations, so you will need to do it on the Payflow side.

Invoices and expenditures will be retained, but do not retain any personal data of the recipient.

To delete a profile, navigate to the Edit > Settings screen. To the right of the Save person button you will find the delete button. Click Delete XX.

Click Delete to remove the person's profile. Be aware, if you click delete, all website activities (including comments, event RSVPs, petition signatures, and survey responses) will be removed, and all control panel activities will be anonymized or deleted. If you click Cancel no action will be taken.

Permanently delete a person

To permanently delete someone to comply with an erasure request, we recommend asking the person to confirm their identity by submitting the request from the email connected to their profile in your nation.

Once you have received the request, navigate to the Edit > Settings screen on the person's profile. To the right of the Save person button you will find the delete button. Click Delete XX.

Select the checkbox next to "Permanently delete XX to comply with an erasure request.” This will prevent data for all email addresses, Twitter/Facebook/LinkedIn/Meetup accounts, and the mobile phone number associated with this profile from entering your nation. Another box will populate requiring you to type in ERASE to complete the deletion.

Once you type ERASE, click the Delete button. You will receive a success message at the bottom of your page that will inform you that the system is deleting the person and their data might take a few minutes to disappear. 

What's the difference between deleting a profile and permanently deleting a profile?

When a profile is deleted, if the person’s data is reintroduced to the nation at a later date, a new profile will be created. Data that remained from the first profile will not be automatically associated with the newly created profile.

When a profile is permanently deleted, any data inputs that would reintroduce the person’s data to the nation will be blocked entirely. These include:

  • Taking a website action

  • Creating/updating a profile

  • Inputting a donation or expenditure

  • CSV imports

  • Using the People API

  • Broadcaster imports

  • Recurring Twitter imports

  • Adding a control panel user

In most cases, an error message explaining why the data is being blocked will be surfaced.

Can permanent deletion be reversed?

Permanent deletion can be reversed by NationBuilder, however, no deleted personal data can be recovered.

Does permanent deletion impact data stored in my payment processor?

Only when you are using NationBuilder’s integrated payment processor. If you do not wish to retain transaction data in your payment processor, please contact them for more information on deleting previous transactions.

How can I audit permanent deletion?

An audit log is recorded in your nation and can be accessed via a snapshot. Whenever a person is permanently deleted, we will record an audit log entry that includes:

  • The NationBuilder ID of the person who was permanently deleted

  • The name of the person who was permanently deleted

  • The primary email of the person who was permanently deleted

  • The NationBuilder ID of the control panel user who submitted the request

  • When the permanent deletion was completed

Please note that you cannot restore a snapshot from before a profile was permanently deleted.

Ban a person

Banning a person marks their profile as banned. No one can login to your nation using the Twitter, Facebook, or email accounts connected to the profile. Once you ban a profile with a Twitter account, you will also block them on Twitter. The person can be unbanned. This process is usually done after a person receives three rules violations.  

When a control panel user is editing a person's profile, these options will appear at the bottom of the Edit > Settings screen to the right of the Save person button. Click Ban.

Click OK on the ban person pop-up window to ban the person. If you click Cancel no action will be taken.

Report spam

Reporting spam flags the person and their content as spam. This removes their profile and permanently deletes any user-produced content. 

When an admin is editing a person's profile, these options will appear at the bottom of the Edit > Settings screen to the right of the Save person button. Click Report spam.

Click OK on the report spam pop-up window to report the person as a spammer and remove content they created. If you click Cancel no action will be taken. 

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