# Enable setting to allow admins to permanently delete data
**URL:** https://meta.discourse.org/t/enable-setting-to-allow-admins-to-permanently-delete-data/206678
**Category:** Self-Hosting
**Tags:** how-to, permanently-delete
**Created:** [October 21, 2021, 2:50pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/enable-setting-to-allow-admins-to-permanently-delete-data/206678 "2021-10-21T14:50:28Z")
**Posts on this page:** 4
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@Discourse](https://meta.discourse.org/u/Discourse)
#### Post date: [October 21, 2021, 2:50pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/enable-setting-to-allow-admins-to-permanently-delete-data/206678/1 "2021-10-21T14:50:28Z")
> 🔖 This is a guide on how to enable the setting for administrators to permanently delete data on a Discourse instance.
>
> 🙋 Required user level: Admin
As of [v2026.4.0 Changelog | Discourse Releases](https://releases.discourse.org/changelog/v2026.4.0/?filter=permanently_delete&tab=feature) the site setting to allow admins to permanently delete data is no longer a hidden site setting.
To use this feature, enable the `can permanently delete` setting. However, please be aware of the risks involved with this feature — as the setting name suggests, **if you permanently delete a topic, post, or post revisions, there is no way to restore this content.** As such, there are a few safeguards in place:
## Enabling permanent deletion via the admin dashboard
To enable the setting using the admin dashboard,
1. Go to `Admin > Site Settings > Security`
2. Search for `can permanently delete`
3. Tick the checkbox
## Enabling permanent deletion via the Rails console
To enable the setting using the Rails console, execute the following commands:
1. Access your Discourse application directory:
```plaintext
cd /var/discourse
```
1. Enter the app container:
```plaintext
./launcher enter app
```
1. Access the Rails console:
```plaintext
rails c
```
1. Set the site setting `can_permanently_delete` to `true`:
```plaintext
SiteSetting.can_permanently_delete = true
```
1. Exit the Rails console:
```plaintext
exit
```
1. Exit the app container:
```plaintext
exit
```
This change takes effect immediately, and no further action is required.
## Enabling permanent deletion via `app.yml`
Another way to enable permanent deletion is through the `app.yml` configuration file. Follow these steps:
1. Open the `app.yml` file located in your Discourse application directory.
2. Locate the `env:` section. You can find this under `DISCOURSE_HOSTNAME`.
3. Add the following line to enable permanent deletion:
4. Save the changes and execute the following command to rebuild your app:
Your changes will take effect once the rebuild process is complete.
> Last edited by @Moin 2026-05-14T03:04:10Z
>
> > **Check document**
> >
> > Perform check on document:
---
### Author:  [@Bathinda](https://meta.discourse.org/u/Bathinda)
#### Post date: [August 16, 2024, 2:13pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/enable-setting-to-allow-admins-to-permanently-delete-data/206678/18 "2024-08-16T14:13:22Z")
“Delete Data” means all the topics, posts, uploads etc, everything will be deleted from our site and it’ll be just an empty new website?
* * *
Or it’d delete ‘Data’ container or something?
---
### Author:  [@JammyDodger](https://meta.discourse.org/u/JammyDodger)
#### Post date: [August 16, 2024, 2:25pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/enable-setting-to-allow-admins-to-permanently-delete-data/206678/19 "2024-08-16T14:25:19Z")
It refers to this feature - [Introducing permanently delete post functionality](https://meta.discourse.org/t/introducing-permanently-delete-post-functionality/207109)
It allows admins to hard delete posts/topics when enabled, rather than the normal soft-delete without it.
---
### Author:  [@Moin](https://meta.discourse.org/u/Moin)
#### Post date: [April 30, 2026, 9:38am UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/enable-setting-to-allow-admins-to-permanently-delete-data/206678/21 "2026-04-30T09:38:49Z")
> [@Discourse](#):
>
> As such, there are a few safeguards in place:
It feels like something is missing here. Maybe it’s the information about the extra step when enabling the setting or the extra safeguards when deleting a post (5-minute wait or another admin, and the confirmation text you need to enter).