Permanent deletion permanently removes a contact and the contact’s profile data from the database. It also permanently deletes all tickets where that contact is the requester.

Check out this video for more details.

Understanding Contact: Soft Delete vs Permanent Delete

Soft delete

• Blocks the contact from accessing the portal.
• Keeps the contact profile available in BoldDesk.
• Allows the contact to be restored.

Permanent delete

• Permanently removes the contact profile data from the database.
• Cannot be undone (no restore).
• Anonymizes the contact in places where historical records must remain.

What permanent deletion removes

Permanent deletion removes the following contact data from the database:

• Name
• Email address
• Phone number
• Job title
• Address
• All custom field values

Impact on tickets, comments, and history

Tickets where the contact is the requester

All tickets where the deleted contact is the requester are permanently deleted.

Comments the contact added to other people’s tickets

• Comments are not deleted if the contact commented on a ticket where the contact is not the requester.
• Those comments remain visible but are anonymized and display as: “Deleted User has commented”.

Replies and survey ratings

Replies and survey ratings created or updated by the permanently deleted contact are attributed to Deleted User.

Permanently delete a single contact

Permanent deletion requires two steps in this order:

1. Soft delete the contact. To learn more on how to soft delete a contact in BoldDesk, explore How to Delete and Restore a Contact in BoldDesk.
2. Delete the contact forever (permanent delete)

Delete Forever (single contact)

1. Go to Contacts.

2. Select Deleted View (only soft-deleted contacts appear here).

3. Open the contact.

4. Select More options → Delete Forever.

5. Review the confirmation dialog (it summarizes what will be deleted).

6. Select Delete Forever to confirm.

   

Permanently delete contacts in bulk

1. Go to Contacts → Deleted contacts list (Deleted View).

2. Select one or more soft-deleted contacts.

3. Select Delete Forever.

4. Confirm Delete Forever in the dialog.

   

Consequences of permanently deleting a contact

1. Irreversible: the contact cannot be restored.
2. Profile removed: contact profile data is erased from the database.
3. Requester tickets deleted: all tickets where the contact is the requester are permanently deleted.
4. Non-requester comments remain: displayed as “Deleted User has commented”.
5. Reporting impact: removing requester-linked records can create gaps or changes in analytics and reporting.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. Why can’t I use “Delete Forever” on an active contact?
   Delete Forever is only available for contacts that are already soft deleted and appear in Deleted View.

2. Can a permanently deleted contact be restored?
   No. Permanent deletion cannot be undone.

3. What happens to comments the deleted contact left on someone else’s ticket?
   The comments remain, but the author is anonymized as “Deleted User has commented”.

4. What happens to replies and survey ratings from the deleted contact?
   Replies and survey ratings are attributed to Deleted User after permanent deletion.

5. Can the same email address be used again after permanent deletion?
   Yes. The email address can be used again to sign up as a new contact.