Canonical: https://www.skillhive.com/en/user-guide/deleting-user-data
Language: en
Updated: 2026-09-16
Parent: Skillhive User Guide (https://www.skillhive.com/en/user-guide/skillhive-user-guide)

# Deleting user data 

> Deleting user data (disabling and anonymizing)

## How are user profiles and personal data removed?

Administrators can remove user access and profiles via the admin panel.

User data removal is performed in two phases:

1.  **Deactivation**
2.  **Anonymization**

## 1️⃣ Deactivation

Deactivation moves the user profile to an inactive state.

-   The user can no longer log in
-   The profile is no longer active in the organization
-   Data remains stored in the database
-   The profile can be reactivated if needed

Deactivation is suitable for situations such as:

-   employee leaving the organization
-   temporary suspension
-   legal or business-related retention requirements

## 2️⃣ Anonymization

Anonymization permanently removes personal data.

-   Personal profile data is deleted from the database
-   Data cannot be restored
-   The process is irreversible

Anonymization does **not** remove:

-   swarms created by the user
-   comments written by the user
-   files uploaded by the user

Content remains in the system but is no longer linked to an identifiable individual.

## Automatic Deactivation (AD Integration)

When Azure AD / Entra ID integration is enabled, automatic deactivation can be activated.

Skillhive will:

-   check once per week whether the user’s AD account is still valid
-   automatically deactivate the profile if the account is no longer active

## Automatic Anonymization (Under Development)

Automatic anonymization is not currently available.

This feature is under development.

When implemented, organizations will be able to define:

-   a retention period after which deactivated users are automatically anonymized.

## Automatic Deactivation and Anonymization

Skillhive supports both automated and manual user lifecycle management.

### 1\. Automatic Deactivation (AD/Entra Integration)

When AD/Entra integration is enabled:

-   Skillhive periodically checks whether the user account is still active in AD
-   If not, the user profile is automatically deactivated
-   Deactivated users cannot log in

### 2\. Automatic Anonymization

Organizations can define a retention period for deactivated users

(e.g., anonymize 2 years after deactivation).

After anonymization:

-   Personal data is permanently removed
-   The profile cannot be restored
-   User-generated content remains without personal identifiers

This enables a fully automated lifecycle:

Deactivation → Retention → Anonymization.