Delete a contact permanently via a workflow

[mobedi]

Is it not possible to permanently delete a contact using a workflow. I see options to remove them from a static list as well as adding them to a static list in workflow actions. But I cannot seem to find the option to remove them permanently other than manually selecting and removing them in the list.

[Phil_Vallender · Accepted solution]

Update: Deletion of contacts is now supported. See below.

[karstenkoehler · Accepted solution]

Hi @mobedi and everyone,

I have an update for you, there is a public beta for this feature and it's being rolled out now, see the product announcement below. To request access, click onto your user's icon in the top right corner, Product Updates > Betas and look for "Workflow Action to Delete Contacts". Only super admins can join a beta.

Cheers!

--

What is it?

A new workflow action to delete contacts.

Why does it matter?

It is now possible to automatically delete contacts using HubSpot workflows. For example, to stay in compliance with GDPR laws, you can now create a workflow that enrolls any inactive contacts and automatically deletes them from your CRM.

How does it work?

Follow these steps to create a workflow with the new Delete contact action:

• First, go to Workflows and create a contact-based workflow.
• Then, click Set up triggers to define what contacts should be enrolled in this workflow. Bear in mind that these criteria will define which contacts will be automatically deleted.
• Next, click the plus sign and add the Delete contact action from the list of workflow actions.
• Lastly, hit Review and publish to save and activate your new workflow.

Please note: contacts deleted through this new workflow action can only be restored within 90 days.

Who gets it?

The new Delete contact action is available in public beta. You can request access to the beta by clicking the button below.

[RafaelCm]

Hi @karstenkoehler,

can you confirm that this is not a beta anymore? I have seen this function in my clients Account without requesting the beta beforehand. Is this therefore now working reliably?

Thanks!

[LSimpson3]

Thanks Karsten. Would love to get access to this but not sure which button you meant!

[HPuf]

Thats awesome, this will help with our GDPR compliance. Can we please get access to this beta? I wasn't sure what button you were indicating

[kvlschaefer]

Hi @HPuf and @LSimpson3,

Thanks for reaching out!

The Super Admin of your account can request access to beta features.

This help article explains how they can opt into beta features. 

Hope this helps!

Best,

Kristen

[robbieboy]

I've been using hubspot for 10 years and I can't remember when, but I'm sure it used to be possible to bulk delete contacts from a list using a workflow. Either way, you can't do this now. I bulk delete my contacts by first creating a list, then using the hubspot API to loop through all the contacts in the list and delete. Hubspot limits the number of records your can recall from a list in one go and I think they throttle the speed of the delete requests so it's not lightning fast but it's better than individually deleting thousands of records. PM me if you have a list you'd like removed.

[JasonTong]

I'd also like to delete contacts in mass by workflow. Bad leads coming in from form fills can pile up over a year or two, so would be good to purge them when needed. 

[yatishm]

Hi there

Is there truly no way to automate the deletion of Contacts / Companies / Deals in Hubspot? Esp via a Workflow?

I know and understand that deleting can be a tricky path to tread on but if it is set carefully and works, then should be allowed and possible? 

[cl77]

We solved it by adding the respective contacts in the workflow to a please-delete-me list and then delete the contacts in the list via API or manually frequently

[rvzello]

This feature would be great - I suspect the reason Hubspot doesn't want to include it is because of their pricing structure. They don't want to make it too easy for people to create purge processes and reduce their Hubspot bill... Sad situation if that's the case.

[Phil_Vallender · Accepted solution]

Update: Deletion of contacts is now supported. See below.

[RebeccaNixon]

I genuinely appreciate this reply, but I really don't like the idea that having these controls and capabilities in place is dangerous. I understand that you may not personally feel this way, but in terms of how this may be an indication of HubSpot's reasoning for excluding such functionality... it casts a very low view of marketing professionals. As though we're all a bit silly and shouldn't be allowed to automate or mass-delete contacts if we wish. 

[HS12]

Absolutely agree, this function should be made available to admin right users with the same level of restriction. Couple with the fact that any contacts deleted can be restored for up to 90 days anyway, makes more sense to have such function be made available. 

[PamCotton]

Hello @HS12,

I was able to find this post in the HubSpot Community Ideas forum. The idea is currently not planned but upvoting here will alert our Product Team to the popularity of this request. Doing so will also auto-notify you if/when this functionality becomes available within HubSpot. You may read more about how that review process works here. 

" At this time there are no plans to implement this Idea. While we greatly appreciate your feedback, using automation to delete contacts is super risky, as one mistake could lead to the deletion of an entire portal.

The thread will remain open for voting and commenting, but for now, there are no plans to move forward with development. 

If anything changes we'll be sure to share an update on this thread!"

Thank you,

Pam

[NhoLam]

Yeahhh that was just customer-facing speak for: "our product is too immature to support this basic feature; we're choosing to play this off as an intentional gap to protect your data."

Extremely frustrating that we are handicapped from doing this.  It also makes data cleansing harder, which drives up the count of contacts in your database—which I'm sure is a total coincidence that their pricing model is based on this as well.

[ClaireHsu]

Totally agreed. Also, why can't HubSpot just provide a "recycle bin" so that the deleted contacts from Workflow can be stored there, so that if we make mistakes, we can retrieve the contacts back? Contacts in the recycle bin should not count toward the contacts limit of our account. I do believe this is a needed feature and it's not too much to ask.

[ClaireHsu]

Totally agree with you on the recycle bin feature that is greatly needed. I always thought it's a stardard for database platforms like HubSpot so it's shocking they don't offer it. 

[Chris-Higgins]

Hi Claire,

There is a "recycle bin" for contacts in HubSpot, but it is slightly hidden.  From the contacts list view page, click 'Actions' and then 'Restore contacts'. From here you'll be able to find contacts who have been deleted in the past 90 days and restore them.

Hope that helps!  😊

[mobedi]

Hi Phil,

Thank you for your reply.

So is this the only way to delete a contact or is it possible via the API?

[Phil_Vallender]

Hi, 

I'm not an expert in that area but it looks like you can:

https://developers.hubspot.com/docs/methods/contacts/delete_contact