# Are images and other attachments also deleted after permanently deleting a post?
**URL:** https://meta.discourse.org/t/topic/399315
**Category:** Support
**Tags:** uploads, permanently-delete
**Created:** [March 26, 2026, 11:51am UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/topic/399315 "2026-03-26T11:51:36Z")
**Posts on this page:** 8
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@sniper756](https://meta.discourse.org/u/sniper756)
#### Post date: [March 26, 2026, 11:51am UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/topic/399315/1 "2026-03-26T11:51:36Z")
After permanently deleting a post, will the images and other attachments in it also be deleted?
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### Author:  [@Heliosurge](https://meta.discourse.org/u/Heliosurge)
#### Post date: [March 26, 2026, 12:43pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/topic/399315/2 "2026-03-26T12:43:15Z")
The initial delete from my understanding is a soft delete. I think after a time it deketes fully.
There is this plugin that gives options for more immediate deletion
> [@Legal Compliance Plugin](https://meta.discourse.org/t/legal-compliance-plugin/356331):
>
> information_sourceSummary Offers functions for legal compliancehammer_and_wrenchRepository Link [https://github.com/communiteq/discourse-legal-compliance](https://github.com/communiteq/discourse-legal-compliance)open_bookInstall Guide [How to install plugins in Discourse](https://meta.discourse.org/t/install-plugins-in-discourse/19157)Features There are quite some laws and regulations that apply to your Discourse forum. Although Discourse has a lot of functionality that helps you to adhere to these laws and regulations, some actions currently require you to get technical help and go into …
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### Author:  [@sniper756](https://meta.discourse.org/u/sniper756)
#### Post date: [March 26, 2026, 2:15pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/topic/399315/3 "2026-03-26T14:15:14Z")
If I enable the permanent deletion feature, first soft-delete a post with attachments, wait 5 minutes, and then permanently delete the post. Will this procedure completely delete the attachments in the post?
I don’t want to install plugins, worrying about issues after upgrades.
Thank you.
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### Author:  [@Heliosurge](https://meta.discourse.org/u/Heliosurge)
#### Post date: [March 26, 2026, 5:17pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/topic/399315/4 "2026-03-26T17:17:53Z")
Not sure about attachments but possibly
As for the Plugin; very unlikely to run into issues as it is maintained by Communique(sp?)
I have it installed iirc for almost a year with no issues.
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### Author:  [@darkpixlz](https://meta.discourse.org/u/darkpixlz)
#### Post date: [March 26, 2026, 5:37pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/topic/399315/5 "2026-03-26T17:37:24Z")
> [@Heliosurge](#):
>
> I think after a time it deketes fully.
Nope, to my knowledge posts are retained indefinitely. For both topics deleted by admins and posts deleted by their own authors admins will always be able to see it until permanently destroyed (if enabled).
As for the original question I’m not entirely sure because I haven’t used permanent delete on my sites but I would vouch for the plugin that @Heliosurge recommended, the owner is reputable so if you’re worried it’ll break then the probability you’ll run into issues is low.
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### Author:  [@Moin](https://meta.discourse.org/u/Moin)
#### Post date: [March 26, 2026, 8:04pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/topic/399315/6 "2026-03-26T20:04:09Z")
I found this from 2017
> [@Is there a way to delete old/irrelevant uploads?](https://meta.discourse.org/t/is-there-a-way-to-delete-old-irrelevant-uploads/49284/16):
>
> Enabling the following site setting will clean up uploads from deleted topics.
>
> 
But I think that refers to soft deletes, because #permanently-delete was added in [2021](https://meta.discourse.org/t/introducing-permanently-delete-post-functionality/207109)
There is a little more information about the setting in
> [@Cleaning up uploads and purging uploads from S3](https://meta.discourse.org/t/cleaning-up-uploads-and-purging-uploads-from-s3/248343):
>
> bookmark This is a reference guide describing how orphaned and deleted uploads are automatically purged from a Discourse site. This guide applies to both self-hosted and hosted Discourse sites. person_raising_hand Required user level: Administrator Have you ever wondered what happens to files and images that were uploaded to a Discourse site but are no longer referenced, or how to remove uploads from a site? You’re in the right place! You may need to delete files and images that are upl…
Though I think if I really needed to delete an upload I’d use the legal compliance plugin, too. There are some topics about auto delete not working as expected [Auto purge uploads from old deleted posts - #7 by markersocial](https://meta.discourse.org/t/auto-purge-uploads-from-old-deleted-posts/51306/7)
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### Author:  [@Heliosurge](https://meta.discourse.org/u/Heliosurge)
#### Post date: [March 27, 2026, 10:42am UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/topic/399315/7 "2026-03-27T10:42:50Z")
I was referring to having perm delete option on
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### Author:  [@RGJ](https://meta.discourse.org/u/RGJ)
#### Post date: [March 27, 2026, 11:35am UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/topic/399315/8 "2026-03-27T11:35:16Z")
If you have permanent deletion on, then all uploads in the post will be removed `clean_orphan_uploads_grace_period_hours` after the permanent deletion.
### Note 1:
- although this setting can be set to 0, internally the minimum value is 1
- the job runs only every hour
So in practice, even if you have set the setting to 0, it will take up between 1 and 2 hours for the upload to be removed.
### Note 2:
If you do not have permanent deletion on then you can edit the post to remove the uploads (prior to or after deletion), and the uploads will be removed in the same way as above.
### Note 3:
If any other post, chat message, badge, custom emoji, group, site setting, theme field, user avatar or user profile background still refers to the upload, it will not be removed.
### Note 4:
> [@sniper756](#):
>
> worrying about issues after upgrades.
We are actively maintaining the legal compliance plugin, we have many, many clients depending on it.