In some cases, erasing a contact’s data can be a legal requirement, including under the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the included Right to be Forgotten provision
The tool also provides you with an email receipt of the processed request to use as proof of erasure.
Please note: Erased data cannot be recovered by you or by Act-On. The Erase Contact Tool will not prevent the reentry of erased contacts into Act-On via database sync, manual entry, list upload, or any other means.
Erase a Contact
Important:
- If you are syncing data to/from Act-On, you must first erase the contact from your other database – otherwise, the contact could re-enter Act-On during a sync.
- For the tool to work, all your lists must have their email address column properly identified as 'Contact's E-mail Address' under System Usage.
Admin users can follow these steps to use the tool:
- Navigate to Settings > Other Settings > Erase Contact
- Under Erase this contact, enter the email address of the contact you wish to erase
- If the contact has multiple email addresses, each must be submitted separately to ensure complete erasure
- If the contact has multiple email addresses, each must be submitted separately to ensure complete erasure
- Under Send confirmation of erasure to:, enter an internal email address for your company that can receive receipts of contact erasure
- This address will be saved in your account for future use
- This email address should not be tied to an individual, in case that person leaves the company in the future
- Press the Erase Contact button
- Read the warning and confirm that you have already erased the contact from any database synchronized with Act-On
- Click Erase to submit the erasure request
Confirmation Emails
A confirmation email is sent to the designated internal email address to provide you with a receipt of erasure for each contact erased from your Act-On account. This email contains both the email address submitted for erasure and the date and time the erasure was completed.
Sometimes, when erasure takes above average processing time, you will receive an initial email as a receipt of the request. Then, once the request has been processed and the contact erased, a final confirmation will send.
Erased Data
Following the use of the Erase Contact tool, the Act-On application will search all lists and segments and erase the contact from each. In addition, it will search for all associated behavioral data, opt-in status, subscription preferences, and other data in your Act-On account and remove or anonymize each individual behavior.
As a result, you may notice minor changes to report data that rely on behavioral data including but not limited to email click-through rates, form submission counts, or total message sends.
Please note: Erased data cannot be recovered by you or by Act-On. The Erase Contact Tool will not prevent the reentry of erased contacts into Act-On via database sync, manual entry, list upload, or any other means.
